Does This Make America Great Again
"The only thing we have to fright is fearfulness itself" is as true now as it was when FDR offset spoke those words in his inaugural address in 1933. Anything that divides us makes u.s. weaker, less secure, less productive and "less peachy" and fear may be the most destructive and divisive force on the planet.
Rallying around the sound bite that we need to "Make America Great Again" assumes America has lost its greatness. Information technology has not.
I consider myself a patriotic American. I beloved my state, am proud of its many accomplishments and what we, the people, stand for. I truly believe that America is great. Whether you agree depends a lot on your definition of the word "great."
America has a long and storied history of combating tyranny and evil in the world and standing with those who are unable to stand on their ain. Americans routinely rise to the claiming. Often we also sacrifice for the common good.
Love of country motivated me, similar so many others, to step across fear. I put my life on the line -- as a combat airplane pilot, exam pilot and as an astronaut who launched to space from both American and Russian launch pads. I participated in iv spacewalks where I was in constant danger. I returned to Earth traveling back through the atmosphere on burn down at v miles per second (twice).
In combat, I was routinely shot at with bullets and missiles. I have besides ejected from a malfunctioning F-xvi fighter jet seconds before it crashed and was destroyed.
In all those cases I felt fearfulness, but I was able to overcome it considering I believed in the importance of what I was doing for our land and earth.
Fright is a natural response to real danger but beyond its evolutionary importance, fearfulness can also be counterproductive to peace and security.
Fear deceives us into believing that we need to construct a simplified framework through which we view the earth. Fear drives us to lump other races, religions, nations and cultures into the cubby holes of our artificially constructed and misguided view of the world.
These cubby holes serve as walls and boundaries that severely limit our ability to progress and evolve toward a more peaceful and prosperous future. When we cordon off whole groups, there volition inevitably exist people that we've separated ourselves from who concur fundamental pieces of the puzzle needed to solve our nigh pressing shared issues.
Although I do passionately believe in the greatness of our country, I do not believe that America is perfect. Greatness requires an unwavering commitment to improvement. Nosotros all know at that place is enough of room for comeback in our political systems, how we treat one another and how we alive up to our responsibilities to the larger global customs.
The bedrock on which our country was built and that continues to lead to American greatness is the interrelated unity of our nation'south near precious resource, our diverse people.
America is at its strongest when the many unlike races and ethnicities of the men and women who brand upwardly this country are united around a cause. United, nosotros have proven once more and again that we can reach the seemingly impossible -- whether curing disease, combating terrorism, toppling tyranny or landing on the Moon.
But fear undermines that variety that made America cracking in the get-go place. Fear dictates that we establish a group to abscond from or lash out against. In the two-dimensional "u.s.-versus-them" world nosotros've constructed, we're quick to find a "them" to assign blame.
But the world isn't flat (trust me -- I've seen it from space). Nosotros don't live in a two-dimensional world. To start solving existent problems, nosotros need to approach them in the context of the real world with all its multidimensional complexity.
For instance, battling terrorism is non every bit simple equally just assigning a label such as "Radical Islamic Terrorism" to a trigger-happy assault. The many complex factors leading to terrorism can not be reduced to a sound bite.
A refusal to assign a specifically worded label to the perceived cause of an effect is not political definiteness. Information technology is a prudent path to avoid knee-wiggle reactions where too often, the motivation backside assigning a characterization is to simplify a circuitous and often horrific outcome so we tin assign it to the "proper" cubby hole in our narrowly constructed and fear-induced framework.
Nosotros are most successful when we supervene upon fear with calculated reason, patience, compassion and a well thought out plan that includes consideration of the long-term implications of any decision, course of action, or tweet.
In my opinion, a practiced model to follow is the first Bush Administration'southward reaction to the Iraqi invasion of State of kuwait in 1990. In an immediate response to the invasion, decisive initial steps were taken to contain the aggression. I deployed to the area 2 days after the invasion as office of that response.
In one case the situation was stabilized to some extent, an extensive program of international diplomacy ensued to chart out the best class not just for America simply for our global society equally a whole.
Full scale military action took place only later all diplomatic options were exhausted and after the implications to the rest of the world were carefully considered.
Considering of the serious implications to our global society, the gainsay missions of Desert Storm did not embark until key stakeholders were brought into the process. In this case, we had the patience to build an international coalition to topple tyranny.
It was in Desert Storm that I flew my kickoff gainsay missions -- missions where I was decorated for combat valor. From that perspective, to even consider a strategy of carpet bombing an entire population or banning an entire religious group is the consideration of cowardice.
Indiscriminate bombing and consummate "bans" on people will create vastly more terrorists than those actions volition impale or proceed from entering our country. Courage does not look for quick, experience good fixes. Courage does not apply fear tactics for political gain. Real backbone addresses the root causes of an issue and places the long-term needs of the many above the short-term political desires of the few.
America has had a long and strong phonation in steering the trajectory of our global society. We behave the responsibleness to keep to lead. Isolationist policies that promote short-sighted American interests without putting those interests in the context of the rest of the earth are incredibly counterproductive.
To withdraw will erode American influence in the world, reduce American security, and hamper our productivity and prosperity simply every bit how I look the recent Brexit vote will affect Britain.
Whether you believe America is great depends on how y'all ascertain "great." I believe a nation is great if it is able to provide for the needs of its people -- but within the context of the larger global society.
Greatness requires the humility to recognize and ain up to our ain mistakes.
Greatness requires that nosotros recognize when others have a amend approach and learn from our successes and our failures.
Greatness requires that we overcome fear and take the courage to shake off the false and limiting mindset of separation and step into the real globe with all its interconnected complexity and incertitude.
Greatness, above all else, requires that we have the wisdom, patience and humility to realize that in order to succeed and progress we need to incorporate the efforts of all -- non just those we've deemed worthy to exist members of our tribe.
A version of this post originally appeared on Newsweek.
Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-does-it-mean-to-make_b_11190670
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