Colin Powell's Legacy.

• Author: Pearson, W. Robert

American Diplomacy

November 1, 2021

www.americandiplomacy.org

Title: Colin Powell's Legacy

Author: W. Robert Pearson

Text:

Colin Powell touched our national life and our personal lives in more ways than we realized during his time with us. His passing has brought into sharp focus the difference between the America he believed in and the America we face today. The son of immigrants, his drive to overcome, his respect for all who labor, his belief in the power of the community, and his ability to see what mattered all made him who he was and made us believe in what he believed.

The odd thing was that we all thought that world was not only the normal world but also the world that would remain normal - because we lived in America, because we were Americans, because we believed we had a national destiny that was still unfulfilled, that our country was a force for good on the planet and that Americans would always strive to keep it so. The legacy first framed by our Founding Fathers and brought into being over succeeding generations was the vision we inhabited and believed.

If he could speak to us now, a generation after the end of the Cold War and in the midst of an entirely new history, I think he would remind us of two enduring principles. First, he would tell us that our current domestic hubris and the unwillingness to find common space in our national life and purpose endanger us at home and abroad. Second, he would advise us to use our power to manage global issues through diplomacy more frequently now in multilateral settings. He would say that leading with more modesty and more skill within a community of common interests and values should be our forward-looking contribution to global stability and progress.

He was a Black American in a white America. He faced the dilemma that W.E.B. Du Bois first described as being Black and American at the same time. Powell became one of the most popular Americans and one of the most popular Black Americans by embracing the values of traditional American patriotism and by demonstrating that a Black American could have those convictions. He never sought special privileges or treatment for being Black, yet he was a strong supporter of affirmative action and praised its successes in transforming the American armed forces.

As General Powell and later as Secretary of State Powell, he was cautious about the use of military power. He had served two tours in Vietnam. He knew that military force has its limits...