If only Trump were Eisenhower...
An open letter
The true measure of every great country, is not what it takes, but what it gives to the world. This is the true measure of greatness where peace and prosperity are enjoyed by the majority, not just those living in hermetically sealed gilded stratospheres .
Dear Mr. Trump:
Many, many millions are living in anticipation of your inauguration and the direction your presidency will take at a time when the world is facing great change and turmoil.
I am in the later years of my retirement which have afforded me the opportunity to look back on the world with some detachment; and I hope some objectivity with a concern over where we are all headed. I think you might agree that managing change and adaptation are too of the most daunting challenges we face in the global village, and the consequences of actions and policies reverberate into the future more than ever. Therefore, the legacies we leave future generations are more pivotal and existential than ever.
I am deeply concerned that you see power as acquisition and domination. I have a somewhat different view of what is power. Power has many facets and when exercising it, all facets must come under careful consideration. Where power is purely acquisitive, with no checks and balances, no concern for sustainable outcomes, and no demonstrable humanist progress it becomes destructive and sociopathic.
To put it succinctly, the age of great power competition must now become the era of great power cooperation and accord; and this must be considered History’s final ultimatum to the world.
One of the great conundrums facing America, and so many other countries in the world, is power is exercised without reference to historical precedents or benchmarks. In too many instances it is exercised contemptuous of history.
The US has its share of world class scholars who should be influencing policy but are shunned and regarded as dissidents when their knowledge and wisdom should be influential. Why this discrepancy exists has many complex reasons but one that demands to be addressed.
Change in the world of 2025 is on steroids, and the consequences of poor governance in these times in such a highly integrated world can be dire. There are observers who claim we are running too late.
The exercise of power must be accountable and mentored and we have a rich historical legacy to draw on which needs to be constantly referenced. America refuses to refer to itself as an “empire”, but it is just that. Empires are by definition megalomaniac. They are inherently self-destructive and ruinous to the countries they colonize.
This is the essence of 500 years of Western imperialism. Too many Western countries are former imperialists now suffering the sorrows of both empire and colonization simultaneously. The excessive demands of empire cannibalize both colonies and the homeland.
As a border hugging “Canayank” who can see the mountains of Washington state from the front of our house, I reference the history of both countries regularly as a diligent spectator.
American presidents of the past are a great inspiration for those of us living now. Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of great wisdom and I share some of my favorite quotes attributed to him:
We the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve.
Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 158{now 346} million followers, it will no longer be America.
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th US President, 1953-61, died 1969
Too often we are flummoxed by seemingly intractable problems and issues, and this is where History becomes the essential consultant telling us who we are, where we have been, and where we are headed.
How we approach foreign powers is how they will respond to us where the onus is on all parties to build bridges to global peace, reconciliation, and global equilibrium.
The intransigent West must address the reality we are out of step with the rest of the world. We must all move forward into the new century free from the ruinous baggage and tyrannies of the 20th century, as the whole world takes on a bold new venture. Where we perpetrate the mistakes and tyrannies of the past, promising futures are foreclosed.
Static cultures die a slow death, dynamic cultures embrace the future.
The measure of greatness of every country, is not what it takes, but what it gives to the world. This is the true measure of greatness, where peace and prosperity are enjoyed by the majority, not just those living in a hermetically sealed gilded stratosphere.
I think Eisenhower might agree with me that your mandate is not to try and resuscitate the bloody failing empire. It is to start the restoration of the Republic to its greatest potential after decades of insurrectionist wars and corruptions. Where President Ronald Reagan spoke of the “shining citadel on the hill”(1989) delivery is long past due.
Eisenhower also said nobody over 70 should be in the presidency and I totally agree with him.
Currently I am reading, Patrick J. Buchanan’s, Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War. It is a deeply researched book giving us great insight into the wars and follies of the 20th century and how we are still captive to them.
Any time you are in the neighborhood I would be glad to meet with you at one of our local Starbucks. Us older guys can always use a caffeine jolt.
When you send readers to the substack app to see the post, that, for me, is the end of it, I have no smart phone. If I really want to read it, I have to go find it in Notes and click on that, then I can read it. But most of the time, I won't bother.