America's Future Role

I’ve been turning over in my mind for the last week this question : what will be the role of America in the future?

I heard someone say on TV last week that he thinks America’s future lies in being a crossroads where all countries meet and where young people come to be educated. When I heard it, I thought, that seems a rather narrow analysis that lacks vision, and perhaps lacks also an understanding of America’s view of itself.

What have been my conclusions over the past week? Several.

First, I don’t disagree with the person who said that America is a place where the young people of the world are educated. Our system of higher education is open to everyone and it has, in a seminal way, contributed to the world’s economic and technical development in the last century. He was also right in saying that America is a place where the world meets, because our borders are open and we have welcomed people from all over the world who come to America to be free and to live a better life and pass it on to their children. We Americans must strive to continue to be open to the world and not let transitory troubles with some immigrants lead us to isolate ourselves and our system from those who would like to share in it.

Yet, my mind continued to chew on the question of America’s future. Education and freedom for immigrants to live the American Dream are fine roles, but they define only a part of the uniqueness of America.  

For me, America is a vision of mankind, a vision that most of the world would embrace if it were not for repressive governments. Some of the world may also fear being submerged and disappearing into America. Every world culture has its own values, most of them just and acceptable. It is surely their desire to keep their values and not to have them overcome by another set not of their own making. And some cultures are so different from ours that it would take a great leap of faith for them to embrace the American way.

After all of this has been said, there is still something about America that attracts most of the world. It is not our way of life per se so much as it is our vision of mankind and our definition of America’s role in protecting it.

Americans believe they are called by God to protect mankind and that means making freedom and personal success available to all. It also means protecting people, wherever they may be, from those who would abuse them or deny their rights as human beings. This has sometimes got America into trouble in the 20^th century as we rushed to the side of people who needed help, but perhaps not the kind of help America wanted to offer. But, if the two world wars and Korea are the standard, then America has stood up for freedom and personal liberties every time.

The rest of the world knows this. They may occasionally tell us to “get lost.” But if America really did get lost, and no one was there to take its place, they would certainly feel it and grieve for their own loss.