The Politics of Ingratitude.

AuthorBresler, Robert J.
PositionSTATE OF THE NATION

IN PERSONAL LIFE, gratitude is a virtue. It is a recognition that good fortune is not simply of our own making, but also comes from God, our families, our country, our friends, and even simple good luck. To express gratitude is to demonstrate humility and to recognize that one is not the center of the universe.

To expect gratitude among nations is to be perpetually disappointed. In the coin of international politics, it has little value. The blood of those Americans, British, and Canadians spilled on the Normandy beaches counts for little among the French. Marshall Plan aid that saved post-war Western Europe from famine and tyranny has meant little to the region's occupants-then or now. In the 1960s, for instance, French Pres. Charles de Gaulle expelled U.S. troops from France and set the NATO headquarters packing to Brussels. Mutual self-interest is at the heart of any alliance and gratitude has little to do with it. Hard-nosed politicians understand this. Ordinary people, on the other hand, may expect nations to have the good manners they anticipate from other people.

We constantly are reminded to shed such illusions. The simple truth is that much of the contemporary world is free as a result of American sacrifice during World War II and steadfastness in the Cold War. Imagine the fate of South Korea if U.S. forces in 1950 had not saved them from North Korea, or the fate of the Kuwaitis had not our forces expelled Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army. Yet, such thoughts rarely are expressed and the sacrifices are lost in memory. No one should be shocked by such ingratitude. History teaches that, from Biblical times, relations among nations have been a rough business in which sentiment has little place.

What about domestic politics, especially in a nation as bountiful, open, and free as the U.S.? Democratic politics, unlike the international variety, should be measured by different norms. Democracy is more than a set of governmental arrangements. It requires a culture that promotes self-reliance, mutual support, personal responsibility, and civility. A self-governing people should demonstrate gratitude toward those who have assisted them. This is essential to civilized conduct. Ingratitude constitutes the "fraying of political life." Those who reach out to others should themselves receive a helping hand when in need. That is the essence of gratitude.

There is a broader ingratitude that is more complex and relevant to our current political life. The...

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