American involvement in Iraq has finally managed to turn a hopeless situation into something that might resemble success. Fighting in Afghanistan still rages, though it seems to take a back seat these days to wars being waged on the television talk show circuit.
We quickly grow weary of foreign entanglements, and not just wars, but burdens of leadership in a world where crises seem to be ever with us. Our isolationist bent goes at least as far back as World War I days. Generations ago it was a quaint Midwestern sentiment, reminiscent of a time when people believed their central location alone offered protection from whatever craziness emanated from the east and west coasts, and particularly from Europe.
But today we are far removed from such territorial comfort; America itself is intimately connected with a world that is growing ever smaller, ever connected.
A recent Pew Research Center report suggests that an isolationist trend is re-emerging across the political spectrum, particularly with the younger generation. About half of respondents to a poll question on world affairs said the U.S. should “mind its own business internationally,” and among people young thaner 30, 59 percent agreed.
There are many possible explanations for a people desiring to pull back. A troubled economy sorely lacking jobs tends to take eyes off global concerns in any generation, but every generation — in good times or bad — needs to count the cost of burying America’s head in the sand. Is America still the “indispensable” nation on the world scene, or no more indispensable than the rest, as President Obama seemed to suggest since taking office?
And yet, when Obama faced tough decisions on Iraq, Afghanistan, global warming and the world economy, he has responsibly chosen to engage.
The Pew survey seems to suggest a reluctance by younger Americans — who will lead us someday — to allow for an assertive America. But while a majority appear uninterested in sticking America’s nose into other countries’ affairs, only 39 percent of poll respondents said “we should go our own way.”
The side issue in this discussion is whether young Americans are sufficiently engaged with current events to answer polls thoughtfully. At about the same time the Pew report came out, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll said Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 spend nearly 11 hours a day with electronic devices, including an hour and a half spent texting. Does this portend a tuned-out generation?
Are too many younger people unsure of what America stands for, or should stand for? And is that why many of them lack confidence in their country’s capacity for leadership? A good many older Americans, no doubt, share the feeling. But this skittishness falsely assumes the world might be a better place if only the U.S. would sit back and “get along.” A disengaged America, however, can only lead to even greater crises ahead.
— The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
