Anti-Climacus

LINK: The late Stephen Ambrose on nation-building.

"In his farewell address to the American people, Eisenhower spoke to the best instincts of the American spirit:

'We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease, and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.'

Such a world is still a long way away, but we are headed in that direction. If Eisenhower's world seems pie in the sky, consider the things that did not seem possible but then did happen, such as a whole new attitude in race relations among white and black Americans. The greater integration of women. Nelson Mandela walking out of prison. The radiant smiles of the women of Afghanistan as they removed their veils and lifted their faces to the sun.

Anything is possible. We must lead. We took the weight of the world on our shoulders when we won the Cold War. To everyone, everywhere, what a blessing. Around the world people say, "If there is going to be only one superpower, thank God Almighty it is the U.S.A." The responsibility that goes with being Number One should be apparent to all. We must be involved. It is our duty and our privilege. True, our grandchildren will still be struggling to fulfill Eisenhower's prayer ? but what we are doing gets them started."