About five years ago, I said to an online friend in Ireland that the US and it’s people were somewhat isolated and insulated from the rest of the world and it’s problems, not only by our geographic position but simply by our size. Terrorist acts are nearly an expected part of  life in places like N. Ireland and the Middle East and growing more common in both western and eastern Europe. Even in a highly ordered, deeply traditional society like Japan has been touched by terrorism. And now we all will never think of the words “Oklahoma City” or the terms “911” or “Twin Towers” the same as we once did.

 

Our world is indeed becoming smaller in a very real sense. This very writing was composed on a computer in upstate NY, but now is available to be read virtually anywhere in the world, with only the need of a computer, a device that while only a decade or two ago was regarded unaffordable, even unobtainable for most, but now is regarded by many as just another household appliance.

 

Are we becoming “smaller”?

 

Are we jaded?

 

Has technology and prosperity made so many things come so easily that they are taken for granted, even regarded as an entitlement? And are we so full of ourselves, as a people, as arguably the most prosperous nation, that we’ve forgotten that we aren’t an island unto ourselves?

 

There is a big world out there, and our fate is intertwined with that of others. If we wish to trade with other countries, we have to be able to respect their ways. We can’t only deal with other countries in ways and levels that are convenient and beneficial to us at the moment. Yes, we can and should negotiate, but that isolation and insulation I mentioned earlier tends to breed arrogance, tends to breed a sense of entitlement. And if we want all the benefits that come from dealing with other countries and cultures, we have to take all that comes with it- we can’t just conveniently pick and choose.

 

The 70’s were a decade filled with unrest- the end of the nightmare known as Vietnam, Watergate, the Iran hostage crisis, great social change in so many areas, and a sputtering then sinking economy. The 80’s brought the “Reagan Years”, a man that was as much a dutch-uncle/cheerleader as anything, but in many ways, that’s exactly what was needed. This time was hardly free from controversy though- Iran/Contra, a government that in it’s ignorance gave little regard to what would become known as AIDS, and the stark reminder that for all our sophistication we were quite fragile- that of the Challenger disaster, loss of US serviceman lives in the Middle East, Flight 103 bombing and many other events.

 

On to the 90’s- again, more Middle East unrest, involvement and conflict. Iran was no longer the boogyman. Libya and Iraq were now front and center. Also, an eight year long virtual (un)Civil War between one William Jefferson Clinton and the GOP. Scandals galore, investigation after investigation. Odd, as in many ways Clinton was a moderate, and actually served to codify and strengthen the GOP. Arguably the two most significant things that came out of his presidency was Welfare Reform (formerly a GOP theme) and the 1994 “Republican Revolution”, something the Democratic Party has yet to recover from.

 

And oh yes, a whole lot of disillusionment and distrust for both parties and all things political, so much so that a fairly undistinguished, unaccomplished figure could be elected to succeed Clinton- that being George W. Bush. The irony that the single greatest symbol of the Clinton “legacy” might well be GW Bush (or that someone like him would be capable of being elected) will not be lost in years to come (IMO).

 

Now, for good or for bad (check back with me in 10 years or so) we as a country have been quite involved in the last year or so in an attempt to reshape the world, both in Afghanistan and now Iraq.

 

Is it our duty? Is it our right? Are we entitled?

 

Now, I write this as a father of 4 children, all but one in college- young adults, all dealing with a rapidly changing world with no shortage of turmoil and trouble. I’ll also add that the middle son- 20 year old Kent- has decided after two years in college that he wishes to enlist via ROTC, finish college, and then serve in the military, and possibly look at a career in government service after that. 

 

I pray that the world becomes a more stable place.

 

I pray that our leaders, both here and world-wide, make wise, balanced decisions.

 

I pray that we haven’t gotten so “big” in our thinking and regard for our successes that we’ve lost sight of our frailties, our vulnerabilities, and most importantly, our humanity.