Recently a New York Times editorial columnist wrote a piece
suggesting that perhaps Trump was the type of thuggish person necessary to
match perverse wits with other world thugs in North Korea, Iran, Russia and
China.
The longer Trump is in office the more inured we become to
his childish and thuggish antics. Out of
sheer desperation for new things to write, many begin rationalizing his
behavior and attempting to postulate new interpretations of his actions.
It is true that the world is often a brutal place and that
foreign policy, and even economic policy, must be established with cold
sobriety rather than the intoxication of idealism. However, I do not accept the proposition that
we must view everything through a lens of mistrust and cynicism. If we abandon the goal of creating an
equitable global community and replace it with a completely self-seeking,
nationalist agenda – especially in light of our long-held position of wealth
and dominance in the international community – then we are risking a rapid
descent into conflict and bitter competition over ever-dwindling resources and
spheres of influence.
True diplomacy is frustrating and tedious. It does not try to appease, but neither does
it provoke nor bluff. Winning inequitably
on one front will often lead to losses on another, or other unpleasant
consequences that may not even be obvious for years.
The United States has been the dominant world power for
almost one hundred years. In recent
decades the developing world seemed to be slowly catching up – China, India,
Brazil, Russia and many others experiencing rapid growth and the gleeful
creation of substantial middle-class segments of society. But war, economic instability, climate change
and political corruption have stalled the progress of many if not most
developing countries. We see the
consequence of this paralysis in the tides of refugees and immigrants that now
threaten the political stability of even the most progressive and socially
conscious nations.
Pursuing an aggressive policy of ‘America first’ that simultaneously
harms developing nations through tariffs and other punitive trade measures
while mercilessly curtailing immigration and refugee resettlement will
ultimately result in a powder keg of world chaos and despair. The uncertain gains of such a policy will
seem paltry indeed if we find ourselves surrounded by a rapidly deteriorating
global civilization. The richest nation
in the history of the world with a legacy of noble ideas and generous welcoming
of ‘the tired, poor and huddled masses’ can certainly do better than that!
