In an elementary school playground, there are many different children in one area, many of whom are pursuing their own agendas. Some are there simply to play, while others seek to bully and intimidate. Many of the children want to make new friends for mutual benefits, and a few others might want to do so in order to manipulate and control. By far, the greatest force for good in a playground is the child who has the ability and the motivation to protect his or her classmates from persecution.Today's global order resembles such a place. Some countries project power and influence only in their respective regions. Other countries are non-aligned, and they try to abstain from any kind of political contention or military conflict. Another type of nation seeks to build working friendships and alliances with its neighbors for mutual benefit and self defense. And yet another country wants to use its economic and military might to promote peace and prosperity across the globe.
What we often forget, however, is that our world is also filled with countries which bully their neighbors for their own gain. When denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that "you just don't in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pre-text." Indeed, Kerry and others like him seem to believe that aggression and domination on a foreign policy level are things of the past. The fact that Western nations have adopted standards of peaceful co-existence doesn't mean that other countries necessarily have. And those nations which bully, manipulate and intimidate others on a global scale are not deterred by rhetoric, any more than a school bully is fazed by someone telling them to "stop".
Therefore, the only way to enforce peace and security is for there to be a nation or group of countries dedicated to doing so. This role, effectively created after World War II, has been filled by the United States. Since 1945, the US and its allies have constituted the primary force involved in confronting communism, international terrorism and rogue nations.
Yet, the United States is also a traditionally isolationist country. Sheltered from much of the world's strife by two large oceans, the US kept to itself for much of the 19th century. While Americans did start to emerge on the world stage after the Spanish-American War, they retreated back into isolationism twice during the 20th century: once in the 1920s and 30s and again (mildly) in the late 1970s.
Today, America has entered a new period of isolationism. Perceiving the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to be lost, and believing that domestic concerns outmatch foreign ones, more and more Americans want their country to "mind its own business". The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the impending withdrawal from Afghanistan, relative inaction on the part of the United States to events in Ukraine, Eastern Asia and the Middle East, and the weakening of US support to Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Thailand all suggest an ongoing retreat from world affairs. If future events unfold based on current trends, it is conceivable that the United States will retreat to the sidelines and silently watch as turmoil and conflict sweep the rest of the globe.
In order to more fully understand our new era of isolationism, we can look back at a similar time during the 1930s. The destruction and horrors of the First World War created a great disillusionment for interventionism abroad within the United States, resulting in the period of isolationism which lasted for the next 20 years. Frightened by their experiences in the war, Americans wanted no part in the outside world's problems. The coming of the Depression in the 1930s only deepened this isolation; the United States did nothing to respond to German, Italian and Japanese aggression abroad while cutting itself off from foreign trade with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930). Paradoxically, this desperation to evade a European war helped lead to one. It was the inaction of Britain, France, the US and their allies that gave tyrants free reign to do anything they wanted.
By leaving the global playground of the Interwar era, the United States left its friends to themselves. When they needed America most, their ally retreated. The bullies could do anything they wanted for a time, and they did so with vengeance. Without mercy, they terrorized everyone in the playground. Eventually, America did return and help to defeat them, but it was at great cost. This could've been avoided if the United States had never left.
Isolationist sentiment is understandable. We live in a world where different people have opposing goals, norms and values, some of which conflict with each other. Safeguarding world peace is a daunting and seemingly-impossible task. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their lives to defend the freedoms that many people worldwide can now enjoy. With the completion of this task far from our sight and far from present reality, it's difficult not to ask: Is this worth it? Can't we just pull back and solve our own problems before solving the world's? Why shouldn't we stick to ourselves and be alone in the playground?
However, we must answer these questions in a way that will commit us to being involved internationally. Since the United States was first created, it has been committed to defending freedom at home and abroad. Americans from all walks of life and from all political, racial and social groups have given their lives so that we, today, can be free. Having received this precious gift, are we not obliged to work so that others throughout the world can enjoy it as well? It is up to us to ensure that those who have served, some of whom have given their lives in the process, did not die in vain. Fighting for a good cause is rarely an easy task. It can take astronomical amounts of time and effort to do so. We are not justified in walking away from our obligations in Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam when things don't proceed as quickly as we hope.
The world beyond our shores is a difficult place to understand, and we often wonder why we have any kind of obligation to get involved there. Yet, there are people all over the world who need us. We have promised to be there for them and to support them against the threats which they face. Now, we need to live up to these pledges. We cannot possibly retire to the edge of the playground until our work is done. Our future, and that of the world, depends on it.
Works Cited:
