Will they (Global Community) ever trust us again?

The following post comes from an edited analysis that I did for class. This post is simply notes that were taken with some of my own thoughts. So it might seem a little scattered but I felt that it is an important conversation that American's need to be engaged in if we are to ever be effective in the international community again.

What is America’s role in the world? Depending on who you ask, you might get a variety of responses with many variables. In spite of what the United States government and the media may project, there is a growing concern on campuses; in communities and globally that the U.S. is not taking a responsible role with its supremacy, resources and foreign policy. This perspective is one that is seen through the eyes of those who have more international ties and not conducive to our own opinions, beliefs and persuasions.

I will be reflecting and commenting on notes that I took on presentations that took place during Manchester College's tradition of Discussion Day with the 2005 topic "America's Role in the World - An International Perspective". The first will be Dr. G. John Ikenberry’s speech on “American Power and the Future of World Order”, in which Ikenberry discusses America’s power in regards to foreign policy and global responsibilities. The second will be the Rev. William Sloane Coffin’s “A Lover’s Quarrel with His Country”, in which Coffin discusses ways in which we define patriotism and what the real “axis of evil” is and how to fight it.

Dr. Ikenberry, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, as well as, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs’ presentation dealt with the subject matter in which his life has been immersed in, foreign policy and international affairs.
His presentation discussed such items as the military golf courses that are abroad, 123 of them to be exact; to using such realistic quotes as “The U.S. and Europe only have about 20 years left to have their hands on global influence before countries like China and India become major players as well”. As far as the U.S. foreign policy he said that if we could just be willing to become an equal exchange partner when it comes to fair trade, soldiers wouldn’t have to cross borders.
He named five shifts that are taking place in today’s world that were not present following the Second World War. They are in order: a decline in old threats, a rise of new non-national threats, the privatization (and rhetoric that gives power) of war, the rise of the U.S. as a single superpower (unipolarity), the rise of new power centers such as China and India and the rise of religious extremism. These have led to such events as 9/11 and the War on Terror.
He also listed three arguments that reinforce the shifts taking place within the U.S. government and its policies. Such reasons as looking to the past to see what the future will be like, the Bush Revolution that gives power to neoconservatives that want to solve the world’s problems and that long term shifts play a major part in the role of change. “If the U.S. does not have a positive impact on international relations, then we will fail as a superpower and a nation. And if we fail as a superpower we will be supplanted by a stronger one.”
In conclusion, Dr. Ikenberry made a strong claim that “if the United States does not have a positive impact and bind itself to the international community we will be unsuccessful as a superpower and a nation”. He closed his presentation with a quote from Paracletes that said “I worry less about strategies of my enemies than I do of my own estate.”

Rev. William Sloane Coffin, an advocate for progressive Christianity and long-time supporter for an end to the nuclear race, had a video presentation that discussed how we can better fight the “axis of evil” by naming what exactly that is as well as defining exactly what are the true/false notions of a patriot in the United States.
He encapsulated the emotion that Americans felt following 9/11. “The insecurity produced by 9/11 is responsible largely for the fresh militancy in this country… We have a self-righteousness now that comes from feeling unfairly hurt… a lot of people in the world are being unfairly hurt. But we closed in on ourselves and now the most powerful nation in the world became the victim of victim-hood… after 9/11 we had the world’s good will and we have squandered it!” He then describes the response to that “felt” sense of insecurity that we expressed to the global community, “The United States that has become “a victim of victim-hood”.
Rev. Coffin had a wealth of quotes such as: “My pride swollen face has closed up mine eyes” from St. Augustine; “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men and women”, by Abraham Lincoln; and the French philosopher Pascal that said: “Human beings never do evil so cheerfully as when they do it out of religious conviction.” All of these anecdotes heightened the awareness of our current circumstance in America that Rev. Coffin asked the audience to identify with.
He continued to discuss the U.S.’s foreign policy and apathetic tendencies when it comes to poverty, pollution and warfare. “Our military budget alone is greater than the next 15 military budgets combined… we’re acting like winners that couldn’t care less about the losers.” He continued with what most Americans would counter as anti-American, “We know that dissent is not disloyal. What is unpatriotic is subservience.”
According to Coffin there are three kinds of patriotism. “The two bad ones are “uncritical love of your country” and “loveless criticism”. While the good patriots are “those who can carry on a lover’s quarrel with their country… as a reflection of God’s eternal love quarrel with the entire world.” We as citizens can address the flaws of the country in such a way that we are “true patriots”.
“We need a single standard… there must be either universal permission or universal prohibition”, as it pertains to the nuclear arms race and those countries that have chosen to practice a nuclear apartheid. Rev. Coffin’s conclusion that most impacted the audience was his claim that “the axis of evil is not Iran, Iraq and North Korea. A much more formidable trio is environmental degradation, pandemic poverty, and a world awash with weapons”. The moment we start to focus on these evils, our world will be better suited to take care of, and not destroy one another.

I would conclude by saying that we must allow truth to invade our being, truth that at the same time gives us reassurance that we effectively preserve our own stances while still able to cry at the wrongdoing that takes place within the very fabric of our society. Both Ikenberry and Coffin would say that we can not go on as we have been, otherwise we are sure to see doom that spans not only our nation but the world. What effect will this have on our lives today? How can we be true patriots? How can we better bind ourselves to one another? What will happen when we finally do?