Nagy: Oh, say can we see? America and world in 2022
As if the national mood this July 4th wasn’t bad enough – even without the horrific Highland Park killings – out comes Gallup’s annual survey of Americans’ trust in major institutions, and the news just gets worse. Only two – small businesses and the military – hold above 50%, while our three Federal branches of Government are far underwater (the Supreme Court at 35, the Presidency at 32, and Congress coming in dead last at 7!) With yet another COVID subvariant resurgence, a recession on the horizon, inflation rampant, supply chains still clogged, and politics paralyzed, one might think America’s prospects look dim. And yet, looking around the world, I wouldn’t trade America’s position with that of any other nation; if we play the hand geography and history have dealt us, the American era can still have a long run.
Location, location, location. Where we are matters a great deal, and no other nation has been as blessed as the USA. Start with a fertile, continent-sized landmass endowed with incredible resources, a temperate climate, and the world’s most prolific navigable waterways. Add the two best neighbors a country can have, which contribute to our security instead of threatening it, plus long coasts on the world’s two largest oceans, which insulate us from other regions’ chaos. On the other hand, our two greatest foes – China and Russia – are surrounded by hostile or unstable states which present a constant threat to their own security and prosperity. Countries can pick their friends, but not their neighbors.
While this last year has featured global chaos and some serious tactical defeats for the US (e.g., the Afghan debacle) we are at a much stronger geopolitical point moving forward. Putin’s massive miscalculation on how quickly Russia could overwhelm Ukraine has resulted in NATO recovering a strength and resolve that has been missing for decades. And all of Europe now recognizes Putin for what he really is – a mafia don with megalomaniacal tendencies who only responds to force, not an outstretched hand. The blinders have also finally come off regarding China’s global threat, as evidenced by the July 6 joint press conference held by our FBI Director and Britain’s MI5 (their FBI counterpart) Chief. Yes, China has taken huge advantage of our naivete for years with their cunning duplicity and it remains the free world’s greatest long-term threat. But there is finally a sense that Popeye has his hands on the can of spinach and Bluto’s unchallenged rampage is soon to end.
China makes a point of belittling our democracy as chaotic, inefficient, unmanageable – i.e., deficient in comparison to their autocratic, decisive, organized, approach. But, in fact they are the weaker system because so much of the Chinese Communist Party’s energy must be devoted to maintaining absolute control over their people. Given today’s interconnected world, with technology developing at light speed, the Chinese system is more like a house of cards, and their leaders fear that any crack in their control systems will sweep away the Communist regime. And isn’t it interesting that, despite detailed planning and targeting resources towards scientific advances, it’s been our “inefficient and chaotic” system which achieves the most significant inventions and advances – to the point the Chinese must steal our technology to keep up?
However, to fully realize our potential we need to take advantage of our strengths – and that is where we face the greatest threat. Our country, our scientists, our businesses, our entrepreneurs, and our military are rock solid; but the very institutions which are supposed to move us forward are instead dragging us down. As the Bible notes and Lincoln remarked, “A House divided against itself cannot stand,” yet it’s those very entities which seem intent on dividing us. Fortunately, our people are still blessed with common sense – witness how they rank their trust, or lack of it, in politics and the media. For America to thrive, these institutions must change, and given our history with previous cycles of bad leadership, they eventually will; but time is of the essence. I still have faith in Churchill’s saying to “Count on the Americans to do the right thing -- after they’ve tried everything else.”
Ambassador Tibor Nagy was most recently Assistant Secretary of State for Africa after serving as Texas Tech’s Vice Provost for International Affairs and a 30-year career as a US Diplomat.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tibor Nagy oh, say can we see? America and world in 2022
