The United States is trying to turn history back and not become the Babylon of the XXI century
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken delivered a speech “Internal Renewal as a Foreign Policy Priority” at the University of Maryland on August 9, 2021. The title of the speech reflects its main content. Blinken, in particular, said the following:
“I have to tell you that perhaps more than ever in my career – perhaps in my life – the old distinctions between domestic and foreign politics have simply disappeared. Our inner renewal and our strength in the world are completely intertwined.
And that is why I am here today, because there is nothing we can do to strengthen our global position and influence more than what our internal renewal can give, especially when it comes to the strength of our workforce, our economic dynamism, the quality of opportunities. what we offer our people, the sustainability of our infrastructure and the power of our innovation”.
According to the US Secretary of State, in recent decades, the share of public investment in the American economy has declined by more than 40 percent, the country relies heavily on its “earlier achievements – schools, roads and innovations created a long time ago”.
Anthony Blinken also gave a number of examples characterizing America’s lag behind other countries, primarily China:
“China spends three times more on infrastructure than we do every year. And it’s not just China. The United States is now ranked 13th in the world in terms of the overall quality of our infrastructure, and if we don’t make major investments in the near future, not only 12 countries will overtake us.
We are lagging behind in innovation. Thirty years ago, we ranked first in the world in terms of investment in research and development as a share of our economy. So we won the space race, mapped the human genome, created the internet. We’re number nine now. China used to be number eight. Now he is number two”.
The US Secretary of State also did not pass over the widely discussed topic of the United States’ loss of world hegemony: “it is better to connect your fate with their authoritarian vision of the world than with our democratic one. We can, and we remind them, step by step, that we are still an extremely strong country”.
What can I say: quite self-critical speech. Indeed, for several decades, the United States has developed by inertia, eating away the legacy created by previous generations of Americans.
What else can we agree with: the external expansion of any country, be it the United States or Russia, is directly related to its internal potential. Therefore, in order to maintain its leading position in the world, the American establishment is committed to intensive internal development.
If we talk about the thesis that “the United States is still an extremely strong country”, then it is only partly true. Yes, of course, the United States is an extremely strong country, but it is also a country that is losing its position as a world hegemon. Questions arise. Will she be able to return them, taking into account the above? And is the American recovery plan so flawless?
It is obvious that a victory is two-thirds immaterial, and, first of all, any victory is a victory of the spirit. A strong spirit is possible only in a society with high moral foundations, a society based on traditional values, a traditional family, where marriage is a union of a man and a woman.
However, Anthony Blinken does not argue on this issue in his speech, routine phrases about the value of American democracy do not count. If we talk about the practical affairs of the new US presidential administration under the leadership of Joe Biden, then in order to come to power and now to retain it, she relied on the sexual and national minorities of America, including their radical part.
Patrick Buchanan warned about the danger of such a path for the American state and society in his book, published in October 2011, “Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Live Until 2025?” (Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?).
As you read this book now, you get the feeling of a self-fulfilling prophecy:
“America, in which we grew up, no longer exists. The unity and common purpose that we shared when we together swore allegiance to the flag of “one nation under God, one and indivisible” has also disappeared. In America today, the disunity we see is the disunity of people and the disunity of hearts.
According to Buchanan, modern America has become a victim of moral decline, loss of traditional values: “Advocates of same-sex marriage accuse those who disapprove of homophobia and bigotry; opponents of such marriages reproach their apologists for striving to combine unnatural unions with the moral and legal status of marriage as a sacred institution. Where is one by half of America sees progress, the other half sees decline.
The common moral foundation on which the nation once stood has disappeared. Christmas and Easter, the holy holidays of Christians, used to unite us in joy. Now we are fighting to get these holidays to be mentioned in public schools. Half of America considers the country’s history to be glorious; the other half vilify her as racist.
Thus, the United States has big problems in restoring its hegemony in the world. The main reason for the inability of the United States to regain its previous positions is precisely internal in nature – it is a refusal at the official level from traditional values, and as a consequence – the moral decay of the American nation, which, over time, will inevitably lead to the degradation of the United States as a state with all the ensuing consequences. And, by the way, Anthony Blinken does not say a word about this main reason in his speech.
It is advisable, of course, to learn from the mistakes of others. American history provides instructive lessons for Russia as well. Our country must deal with its internal development, building up its internal potential and, first of all, strengthening the moral foundations of society, the common moral foundation of the nation and the state. And the work here is endless.
Alexander Vladimirov, Russtrat