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Forces shaping America's destiny
The Norman TranscriptJuly 30, 2005 12:30 am— For The TranscriptTime has a way of quietly closing our options. The days seem to slip by slowly, but they add up toaccelerating years. As individuals and as a nation we have so much to do with so little time in which to do it.And grievous problems bedevil us all; although there is no doubt that those of the president are especiallyheavy. Three fleeting years, beset by the unforeseen and the unknown, are about all he has left to deal withthem. When struggling with national and international problems three years is all too brief, for those in powerpass from office and drift in the direction of obscurity.Not many American presidents deserve to be called "great." We would probably all agree that Washingtonand Lincoln deserve the title, but controversy abounds and a few have been rascals; one or two probablydeserve the title "scoundrel" at worst and "inept" at best. Political party labels and symbols tell us very little;what they signify is frequently ceremonial, oftenverbal rituals and platitudes intended to rally the hesitant andsolidify the believers. Perhaps the best way to gauge officials is to assess critically what they do ? or don'tdo ? always keeping a skeptical ear attuned to what they say. Do they serve selective cliques or the public?Whom do they favor and reward and on what grounds? How do they spend public money? Are their taxproposals equitable or supportive of vested interests? Do their professions of faith correspond to what theydo? Specifically, are they bringing the nation together and contributing to the long-term welfare of thepeople?In a world as involved and convoluted as ours, what can the chief executive of the U.S. do in a brief threeyears? In view of the times perhaps his principal responsibilities are in foreign affairs. The prospects of nuclear war and the proliferation of nuclear bombs call for unremitting attention. There are many otherproblems before our nation, but this one is primary. If these things get out of hand other difficulties becomeacademic. Those surviving, if anyone, an exchange of nuclear bombs and uncontrolled radiation will havelittle to debate and life will have very little meaning. True, we are powerful enough to blow up any portion of the world we choose, even the whole planet. But we enjoy no monopoly. Other countries have the bomb. Onecountry purloined it from us with deft espionage; we probably gave it to another one. Others have developedit on their own. And Iran and North Korea seem to be on the brink of mastering the required techniques. Sincemathematics, chemistry and physics are universally understood disciplines, we should not be surprised. Thereare other reasons why the American President should maintain a cooperative relationship with foreigngovernments, but keeping the nuclear genie under control is his first challenge and obligation.The main obstacles standing in the way of enlightenedleadership and aggressive efforts to contain the dangersof the future are twofold: insight restricted by economic privilege and education that does not train habituallyto think critically. Intensifying this problem is another infirmity, the na?ve and arrogant notion that since weare the most powerful nation in the world we should run the world.There is an influential clique in Washington, tied to the industrial-business community and reinforced bysegments of the military that share this view of omnipotence. And their politics is guided by this notion. Hereis arrogance, and arrogance is a dangerous, even lethal, attitude. We are superior only in an industrial militarysense and that dominance is waning. China and India seem to be the powers of the future. Their potential isenormous; their influence is growing; and we are dismantling our industrial machine as we diminishresources, run out of petroleum and send production overseas in the name of free trade.As if all this is not enough, climate warming, over-population, flourishing diseases and the recrudescence of old ones like TB and the relative diminishment of needed water beset the world and impinge on us. ThatChina is four times our population and India at leastthree times larger seems to modify little Washington
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