Donald Trump really doesn’t care about the old world order and the ancient logics of the Cold War generation (his generation). He’s not afraid of making waves, of placing his finger on the fulcrum of order and flicking it a bit. Trump projects strength, even while the world interprets that strength as stupidity. This is exactly what took place in the early 1980s. Everyone was scared to death of the strength Reagan projected because they didn’t believe they could live up to it, just as Americans today, frightened of Russia, frightened of China, frightened of radical Islamic terrorism, feel they cannot live up to the strength Trump projects.
There was a time, when men placed a great deal of stock in strength, honor, pride, vigor, and daring. When did we become so soft, so easily paranoiac in the face of real and imagined danger? We do not yet know how Trump intends to exercise his foreign policy. Thus far, all he’s done is demonstrate that he doesn’t care about “the rules”. He called Taiwan. He’s said that if Russia is expanding nuclear capabilities, that we’ll expand and outpace their them. He’s projecting strength. He’s advertising to the world that they ought not sleep so easily or confidently when he takes his seat in the Oval Office. He will not be predictable or controlled by fear.
We act as if we’re afraid of war, afraid of offending evil men. I hate war. It is expensive. It costs the lives of our bravest men and women. I hate war, because it is the ultimate infringement of innocent men and women’s right to self-preservation. I’m not afraid of it though. I’m not so naive as to believe that there will ever be a time when the world is not at war with itself. I also do not believe that there is a problem with projecting strength. After all, we aren’t as weak as we seem to imagine.
If you are frightened by the opinions of world leaders, then that is a problem. I admit, I’m worried that Trump’s reckless ideas on the economy could lead to depression and war, but I have faith in his advisers. We’ve been told for the last eight years that if we are strong, terrible things will happen. I couldn’t disagree more. If we project strength, we improve our negotiating position. We increase the likelihood that our State Department will succeed in their ventures. World leaders are more likely, not less, to work side by side with America when she is strong and acting like it. For the last eight years, we’ve been strong, but have acted weak, and look at what that has cost us in the Middle East.
No, I can agree with criticism of Donald Trump when it comes to his economics and his social rhetoric, but when he is projecting our strength to the rest of the world, that doesn’t bother me one bit. I say, “Thank you, President Trump.” A strong US Foreign Policy will save lives and reduce the incidence of skirmishes and war. Foreign actors will behave better and more cautiously. Our allies will be more likely to fall under our leadership when we are leading by strength, rather than leading from behind (as we have done for the last eight years).
Do not be afraid. There is nothing immoral about projecting strength. We must simply demand the virtue of our elected. A great and virtuous power could do a great deal of good in this world. Let our President be strong and let us pray that God leads him toward virtuous decisions and moral ends. Fear is a cancer that eats away at the strength of our resolve and constitution. Nothing frightens me as much as leaders who appear afraid to offend, afraid to act, afraid to speak truth to the rest of the world, and afraid to stick up for the rights and privilege of the United States of America.
We can be strong without pushing other countries around. We can be strong without meddling in the domestic affairs of others. We can be strong without spreading the seeds of democracy in rotten soil around the world. We can be strong without judging the manner in which other peoples choose to govern themselves. We can be strong without creating more enemies. However, if we must choose a posture, let us choose a posture of strength and back up that strength with the largest, most capable military in the world. I think this will be the mindset of the Trump Administration over the coming years and that doesn’t bother me one bit.
