“Power + Enlightened Leadership = Greatness” 

America, When the World Stood on the Edge of the Abyss

There are many examples in history of America’s greatness and its positive contributions to humankind, but among the clearest is how American leadership transformed the world after the Second World War.

The defeated Axis powers truly had represented evil. Had they succeeded, at a minimum the entire Eastern Hemisphere would have been engulfed in an unimaginable —and likely permanent—hell, where genocide and other horrors would have been implemented on a transcontinental scale against not only Jews, but any people or race deemed undesirable. Victorious Germany and Japan would have sooner or later turned on each other; it is likely Japan would have been subsequently eliminated as a rival given that the Nazis would have undoubtedly developed the atom bomb first. Eventually even the Western Hemisphere would have become vulnerable to Nazi nuclear missiles, likely plunging the entire world into an even more horrific dark age. 

Probably the most defining characteristic of the Axis powers was their brutality. The atrocities of the Nazis have become the very definition of evil, from the indiscriminate ruthlessness of their armed forces to the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust. Japan’s brutality throughout Southeast Asia is also well documented, and in China alone over 20 million people perished at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army. The savagery during the Rape of Nanjing was particularly notable, when untold numbers of civilians were executed in cold blood, and tens of thousands of women were sexually assaulted and killed. Many of those raped were also subjected to monstrous abuse and torture. Not even pregnant women, children, and babies were immune from the Japanese solders’ depraved cruelty. 

In the case of Germany, the seeds of Nazism were planted during and immediately after World War I, a conflict which started off in the spirit of “love your country, defend it”, but after several long years of wide-scale mutual slaughter, ended in a spirit of “hate your enemy, kill him.” Outdated war tactics such as mass infantry and calvary charges on one hand, pitted against new instruments of mass killing such as machine guns, tanks, and chemical weapons on the other, made for many millions of senseless deaths and maimings. In fact, an entire generation of European men was decimated. The hatred between the former enemies did not end with the armistice in 1918, in fact it festered as the German people in particular felt betrayed (“stabbed in the back”) by their leaders for having agreed to what they considered the humiliating and vengeful Treaty of Versailles. 

The postwar bitterness set the stage for Adolf Hitler to come to power using the tried-and-true method of manipulating and stoking the emotions of disgruntled people. Specifically, Hitler did this by 1) exploiting resentment toward the Treaty of Versailles and former enemies, 2) accusing German politicians of betrayal and of being elitist and uncaring, 3) scapegoating a vulnerable minority (the Jews), 4) promising to restore German greatness, 5) enlisting the support of religious conservatives who feared the atheist communists, and 6) audaciously lying whenever it suited him.  (Does all of this sound strangely familiar?) Just as a hurricane gets its energy from the heat in tropical waters, the brutal Nazi killing machine was powered by the hatred that Hitler exploited and fueled. Winston Churchill called it  “Hitler's gospel of hatred.”

America’s True Source of Greatness

After the Axis powers were defeated, America led the postwar world with enlightenment and a focus on the future, rather than dwelling on lingering hatred and repeating the catastrophic mistakes made in the aftermath of the First World War. By nurturing democracy and championing free enterprise, America set the path toward an unprecedented era of freedom, peace, and prosperity for both our former enemies and wartime democratic allies. Europe’s long and dark history of internal wars ended. Japan for the first time in its history became a democracy and a world-class economic power. America along with its democratic allies—both new and traditional—became a stark contrast to the dismal alternative offered by the communist-block countries. As President Ronald Reagan said, America was the world’s shining city on the hill, to which all who longed for freedom wished to go.

From this historical example we can know this: American greatness is based less on our economic and military might, but rather on when we reject hatred and foster civility—or more eloquently in the words of Abraham Lincoln, when we act with “malice toward none, and charity for all.” This is true not only when it comes to our former enemies, but even more importantly, how we treat ourselves as fellow Americans. Our greatness shows itself when we show each other genuine respect, even when we disagree; our greatness shows itself when we appreciate and celebrate our diversity of opinions, from which we learn and draw mutual inspiration, and because of which we progress to ever greater heights. Stated simply, American greatness is based on the decency and civility of its people. More than anything else, this is how America won the admiration of people everywhere, this is why America has led the world, and it is the basis for our prosperity. And it is precisely this foundation that the enemies of our democracy—both here and abroad—wish to destroy.

The strategy of these anti-democratic forces is simple: turn us into a country of bitterly divided tribes by using the same emotion manipulation that greedy political forces have always used. The ever-worsening culture wars and Blue-Red divide that result are no accident. They want us to take no-compromise positions, and impose them on those we disagree with. These enemies want us to abandon civility and literally hate each other. Nothing would please them more than to have us devolve into a deadly civil war. They want Americans to become disillusioned with democracy and to stop participating in the voting process. When we do choose to vote, they want us to vote not based on ideas but rather on tribalism and spite, hence shackling our ability to solve problems and progress and resulting in an ever more dysfunctional and weaker America.

Just as Hitler would not have come to power were it not for the disgruntlement that Germans felt after World War I, the attacks on American democracy would not make a dent were it not for the deep levels of discontent that so many Americans feel these days. This discontentment arises, rightfully so, from the belief that the system is rigged in favor of moneyed interests that control our politics and therefore the reins of government. It arises because too many people are struggling to find good jobs and affordable housing and educational opportunities, among other issues. It arises in the final analysis, because people do not feel democracy is working, except in the case of the rich and powerful.

We must not forget: the problem isn’t democracy. Democracy is the best alternative compared to all others. The problem is our “party-first”, reelection-obsessed politicians. Restoring satisfaction in our democracy is crucial, and for that to happen we must believe that our system of government truly works, our economy is opportunity-rich, and our quality of life nationwide is excellent and constantly improving. This will only come about when we reform our politics, beginning with limiting our elected officials’ ability to become addicted to power and thus liable to selling themselves out to special interests in order to stay in office. We must allow our elected officials to sip the Kool Aid only once.

Remedying our politics is the starting point, but other reforms are also needed. To this end, among the steps that the Solutions Party proposes are the following:

1. Putting into place a one-term limit so that our elected officials cannot give priority to their own reelection and to the special interests that help them achieve that
2. Doing away with the conventional notion of political parties, and in doing so toning down the destructive, mindless partisanship 
3. Creating an opportunity-rich, dynamic economy based on a highly adaptive, creative workforce and unlimited clean energy
4. Putting an end to the disastrous war on drugs, and in doing so reduce addictions, improve safety and prosperity in our neighborhoods, and eliminate the most significant factor causing illegal immigration 
5. Leading an aggressive war on waste and corruption, both here and abroad
6. Recommitting ourselves to a country based on principles 
7. Restoring confidence in our judiciary
8. Making government more efficient by putting a 5-year limit on government employment 
9. Coming up with novel ideas to bring opportunities, prosperity and better health to all parts of our country 
10. Restoring faith in our journalists and news organizations
11. Aim for a better-informed, large, and committed electorate
12. Making housing and quality education affordable for all 
13. Setting a higher standard for business 
14. Ending the mindless culture wars

Implementing these steps will make a difference, because they will directly address many of the root causes of our country’s dysfunction. Once we believe again that our government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people, and when we have prosperity for all based on a robust economy, then civility and unity—the true sources of American greatness—will return.  

A Final Note

Any effort that seeks to make America great again through division and intolerance will not only fail, it will destroy the very foundation of our greatness along with our democracy. Today’s divisive issues are complicated, but if the out-of-control emotions can be reined in, more often than not a lot more common ground and room for compromise exists than perhaps is realized. While “compromise” is sadly akin to a four-letter word these days, we must never forget that democracy is based on dialog and compromise. Democracy is not compatible with the might-makes-right, winner-take-all bitter tribalism that has been the norm throughout the vast majority of humanity’s dark history of savage backwardness. 

As noted in Democracy at the Crossroads, the politics of division is a never-ending battle to nowhere. This is because the forces of intolerance are not monolithic; though their internal differences may be overlooked amongst themselves while they are allied to pursue common goals and vanquish common enemies, eventually these differences will become open wounds that give rise to new, viciously competing sub-tribes that turn on each other—just as Germany and Japan would have done, just as the communists did, and just as the Islamic terrorists continue to do. In the politics of division and intolerance, today’s ally becomes tomorrow’s mortal “fight-to-the-death” enemy.

There is only one path forward, one path that leads to the civility, decency, and unity that is the foundation of American greatness, and it requires that we take bold steps to address the various maladies afflicting our country today.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.