Dana Blankenhorn

Humility and Democracy

America has been the terror of the world for nearly 75 years now. Along the way we have overthrown many elected governments, killed and brutalized millions. When the Cold War ceased to be our excuse, we did it for oil, or because “terrorists” were doing it back.

We glory in our military excess. This is bipartisan. President Obama attacked Libya to get rid of Qaddafi, which is now a hellhole and source of migrants destabilizing Europe. He got involved in Syria but did nothing to stop the war there. Europe’s refugee crisis has “Made in USA” stamped all over it.

We’re still in Afghanistan. Obama refused to get out. He never moved against the military control of sporting events, the staged reunions, “God Bless America” replacing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” or thank you for your service.

The United States spends more of its treasure on the military than all our conceivable rivals do, combined. We have usually gotten away with it, but not always. We still haven’t gotten our heads around losing in Vietnam, or the Iranian Revolution.  

Thanks to Trump, the price of arrogance is now going to be paid. Trump’s stupidity guarantees it. And there’s nothing for us to do but take it.

This is where the next Democratic Administration will get its fiercest pushback.

The Reckoning

Are we the baddies?

The British comics David Mitchell and Robert Webb did a sketch about that a decade ago, portraying two German soldiers. It was funny because, indeed, we couldn’t conceive of ourselves as the baddies.

But we often are. We usually are.

Even Barack Obama didn’t stop us from being bad. He didn’t get out of Iraq until he had a government there of his choosing, not the Iraqis’. He never got out of Afghanistan. Those detention centers kids are languishing in were built under his Administration.