The problem is that they are caught between a certain American political reality and a certain geopolitical reality. Namely, that right now America has no appetite for involvement in foreign conflict, even though, in the grand scheme of things, America's leadership of the international global democratic order is crucial.
The problem is that they are caught between a certain American political reality and a certain geopolitical reality. Namely, that right now America has no appetite for involvement in foreign conflict, even though, in the grand scheme of things, America's leadership of the international global democratic order is crucial.
This is what happens when you mismanage our role in the world like the Bush administration did. Prior to Gulf War II, America was the undisputed leader of the free world. Bush's cowboy foreign policy, mishandling of Afghanistan, and opportunistic overreach in Iraq eroded our credibility in that regard, and led to years of America shrinking from its role in the world - because it was what its people wanted. What we're seeing now is the kind of careful management and steady leadership that we've needed all along (Afghanistan notwithstanding). This is how we maintain our status within the free world, and the free world realizes it; the remarkably unity we're seeing from our allies is inspiring. It is likely the result of realizing how badly the world missed American leadership during the Trump era, and a desire to invest in making sure that doesn't happen again.
The problem is teaching our people at home this lesson. Most Americans think of WWII as the war in which we heroically defeated the evil Nazis and saved the Jews, rather than the war which established a global international order led by the United States. Americans care little about foreign policy if it doesn't directly affect them, but when it does people will tend toward isolationism if they don't see the big picture. That's why we're so stuck right now; our ability to rally the nation is limited by our partisanship, by the bad faith arguments made by people who profit from our disunion. The left has always rolled its eyes at the pretense of U.S. leadership, and now the right has completely surrendered to the narrow-minded provincialism that festered within its ranks for years. What we have here is a golden opportunity to re-assert ourselves and give Americans a reason to take pride in their country's role on the world stage - *if* we can cut through the propaganda and disinformation.
The problem is that they are caught between a certain American political reality and a certain geopolitical reality. Namely, that right now America has no appetite for involvement in foreign conflict, even though, in the grand scheme of things, America's leadership of the international global democratic order is crucial.
This is what happens when you mismanage our role in the world like the Bush administration did. Prior to Gulf War II, America was the undisputed leader of the free world. Bush's cowboy foreign policy, mishandling of Afghanistan, and opportunistic overreach in Iraq eroded our credibility in that regard, and led to years of America shrinking from its role in the world - because it was what its people wanted. What we're seeing now is the kind of careful management and steady leadership that we've needed all along (Afghanistan notwithstanding). This is how we maintain our status within the free world, and the free world realizes it; the remarkably unity we're seeing from our allies is inspiring. It is likely the result of realizing how badly the world missed American leadership during the Trump era, and a desire to invest in making sure that doesn't happen again.
The problem is teaching our people at home this lesson. Most Americans think of WWII as the war in which we heroically defeated the evil Nazis and saved the Jews, rather than the war which established a global international order led by the United States. Americans care little about foreign policy if it doesn't directly affect them, but when it does people will tend toward isolationism if they don't see the big picture. That's why we're so stuck right now; our ability to rally the nation is limited by our partisanship, by the bad faith arguments made by people who profit from our disunion. The left has always rolled its eyes at the pretense of U.S. leadership, and now the right has completely surrendered to the narrow-minded provincialism that festered within its ranks for years. What we have here is a golden opportunity to re-assert ourselves and give Americans a reason to take pride in their country's role on the world stage - *if* we can cut through the propaganda and disinformation.