BackboneAmerica

By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net)

There is a fundamental flaw in the thinking of the Jimmy Carters in our society, and it endangers Western Civilization itself.

It is the implicit subconscious assumption that we are the most powerful and wealthiest country in the world. And in the minds of the Jimmy Carters, this status will remain inviolate, because our victory in 1945 has cast it in stone forever! Several mistaken assumptions flow from this:

** No further conflict anywhere at any time will ever be necessary to protect our interests

** So if there is conflict, it is our fault, resulting from our unnecessary ‘bullying’ of others

** We can afford to be magnanimous about encroachments against our interests, and even tolerant of internal treason, because our omnipotence makes defense unnecessary

** When we show ‘restraint and forbearance’, others will express gratitude and respond in kind — since we are the most powerful, are we not?

Unfortunately, this point of view exists only in the minds of the Jimmy Carters, and nowhere else: certainly not with policymakers in Asia, South America, or the Middle East.

In the late 1970’s President Carter curtailed our naval building program. His assumption was that the Russians would respond in kind, convinced as he was that their buildup was only a response to ours, (in other words, “our fault” as always). In fact, the Russians accelerated their buildup, and announced the Mediterranean was no longer an “American lake”. President Carter’s feeble response was that he “felt betrayed” by the Russians.

Today, you hear the same sort of thing. George Soros holds that our “war on terror” is what’s causing it. (See his article “A Self-Defeating War “ in the Wall Street Journal 8/15/06.) Again, this demonstrates the “It’s always our fault” point of view. Soros carefully ignores the attacks prior to Sept 11 when America did NOT respond.

But what the Jimmy Carters regard as “restraint and magnanimity”, just about everyone else regards as a sign of weakness. And rather than responding in kind, our enemies push even harder to achieve their goals. This builds a momentum against us that could quickly destroy all of Western Civilization. It’s happening now.