Opening The Rift
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Is A Different Path Possible for the USA in the Near Future?
The USA’s post-1946 history reveals overwhelming missed opportunities, squandering goodwill and leading to a highly endangered world.
A visual metaphor for the critical choices and potential new paths facing the United States in the near future. (Representative Image)
Key Takeaways
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It is encouraging to know that criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza has increased of Israel in Gaza have increased in the USA, particularly among the youth. Several senior leaders have also voiced strong opposition to the potential Iran War, which is proving to be one of the most unpopular prospective conflicts in the USA. This is encouraging to some extent for peace, but this certainly does not go far enough. Much more needs to be done before there can be greater confidence in moving in the direction of peace in the years after the Trump presidency ends.
An increasing tendency in today’s highly rushed times is that even the most accomplished analysts may be so busy studying immediate issues that a longer-term view and wider vision may be missed. If we stop for a while to take a wider view of the USA’s history of 1946-2026, the overwhelming reality that emerges is that of missed opportunities.
After the horrible new reality emerging from Hiroshima, coupled with the massive destruction of the Second World War, had re-emphasized the paramount need for creating a more protective world, this clear lesson was ignored by the nation that had emerged as the most powerful from the ashes of war., on top of all the other massive destruction of the Second World War, had re-emphasized the greatest need for creating a more protective world, this most clear lesson was ignored by the nation which had emerged as the most powerful one from the ashes of world war bombs. Despite the timely warnings of visionaries like Einstein and Gandhi, and even Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower and top civil rights leaders like King, the USA remained set on an aggressive path which has led today to a highly endangered world, in terms of wars and weapons, many-sided environmental and survival crisis.
Of course other countries including the Soviet Union and China (as also close allies of these countries as well as the USA) also made very serious mistakes and contributed to the dangerous mess. In fact, the biggest man-made famine of the last 80 years occurred due to very serious mistakes made during the highly arbitrary and arrogant exercise of power at the time of what was ironically called ‘the Great Leap Forward’ (around 1959-61) in China, to be followed a few years later by the ravages of the ‘Cultural Revolution’.’ (around 1959-61) in China, to be followed a few years later by the ravages of the ‘Cultural Revolution’.
While significant mistakes by several countries contributed to the aggravation of high risks the world faces today, it is fair to say that as the biggest power, the USA also bears the highest responsibility.
Stepping back to 1945-46 reveals a historic situation that greatly augmented the USA’s secure geographical position and high resource base, creating uniquely favorable conditions for a world leadership role. This was strengthened by setting up new systems of world trade, currency and reconstruction of war-ravaged economies of the earlier biggest powers under a widely spread US umbrella.
This was the strong base from where an enlightened world leadership role for the USA could have been strengthened and sustained for a very long time, based on the simple precepts of justice, fair play, peace, and environmental protection. If enlightened leadership by the USA had been pursued and advanced in this way, in consultation with allies and the UN, involving wise leaders with a firm commitment to peace from all over the world, then it is certain that the USA’s enlightened leadership would have progressed in a strong and sustained way.
In 1946 there was an immense lot of goodwill for the USA all over the world. The USA’s leadership simply squandered it. Soon shocked people in Vietnam were asking, “We loved you. Why are you bombing us day and night?”
So in a nutshell what happened was that the very substantial capacity of the USA got sucked up in wars instead of being used for promoting welfare and protection. The other side of increasing external wars, which claimed millions of lives of innocent people, was that domestic achievements in terms of meeting essential needs of all people fell far short of potential, resulting in substantial excess mortality at domestic level (this excess has been increasingly much higher than is commonly realized). What is more, the USA lost a sense of being protective at the world level, so that the exertion of its power was increasingly seen as arbitrary, arrogant, and destructive, instead of being related to protective objectives.
Where does the USA go from here? It is of paramount importance not just for the sake of the USA but for the peace and indeed the survival of the entire world that the USA undertakes a very important course correction, planning its next two decades along the lines of seeking enlightened world leadership based on the precepts of peace, justice, and environmental protection. If this can happen, then it is possible that the century of 1946-2046 can still conclude with the USA embracing an enlightened leadership role, rather than forever seeking hegemony in destructive ways. in destructive ways. Today, of course, this cannot be expected from President Trump, but it is still a possibility if all the forces of justice, peace, and environmental protection in the USA (and among close allies) can unite around a vision of integrating a protective agenda internally and externally.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Rift.
