Is the Finale Upon Us?

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.
• Position: STATE OF THE NATION

"Americans need a shock to regain the courage and traditions of the past. It is not simply the future of the U.S. that is at stake, but the future of all humankind."

TRYING to make sense of the complexities of politics and vagaries of events is a lesson in humility. History may have an inexorable logic. However, no one has been able to figure out what it is. Indeed, not this writer. In my lifetime, events that shaped the course of the future came suddenly and unexpectedly: the rapid development of the atomic bomb, altering the nature of modern warfare; the dramatic success of the civil rights movement, led by a young and unknown Georgia minister; the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European empire, which occurred peaceably, within months, brought a united Germany into the Western Alliance and hopes for the end of the nuclear arms race; the devastation of 9/11 that sent U.S. troops into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and the COVID-19 pandemic that challenged decades of material progress and global cooperation.

One lesson from these earth-shaking events is historic conflicts never end, and those countries that can adjust are most likely to thrive and prevail. After World War II, the U.S. appeared to be one of those nations. Having won the war, we did not conquer our adversaries; we liberated them. Germany and Japan became prosperous and stable democracies and essential alliance partners. Smaller countries--such as Granada, South Korea, and Kuwait--avoided the dictator's yoke due to American military intervention. Under U.S. leadership, world trade flourished, granting numerous countries the opportunity to emerge from centuries of impoverishment. Despite the tragically mismanaged Vietnam War and the disgraceful retreat from Afghanistan, the U.S. has been a saving grace for many nations. However, gratitude has not come our way; no American should be startled by that. Gratitude is an unknown quantity in international politics.

What is startling is the growing lack of appreciation and gratitude within this country. We always have been self-critical people, which is healthy. The civil rights movement challenged the smugness that lurked in 1950s popular culture. Vietnam, Watergate, and the oil shocks challenged our self-confidence in the 1970s. In the 1980s, America once again was reawakened. Ronald Reagan presided over the re-invigoration of our economy and the careful leadership of our alliance. What followed was an unprecedented...