“With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.” It’s not exactly like Kennedy’s 1968 clincher, “Ich bin ein Berliner” or Reagan’s “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” but for the Senator from Illinois, it will make do. For Obama, his speech in Berlin may yet prove to be prophetic down the road.
America’s place in the world is quickly becoming a campaign topic in the upcoming election. All of our domestic problems here at home are no longer as “domestic” as they once were, and they’re quickly becoming world issues thanks to the advance of globalization.
Both presidential candidates have made it a point to stress partnerships and coalitions in solving world problems, a refreshing break for European governments that were growing tired of perceived American unilateralism in dealing with world issues. Obama’s choice of Berlin for his hallmark speech during his recent European and Middle Eastern tour is interesting — while Berlin is not necessarily the center of the world’s latest struggle against extremism or every world issue, its past as the former center of the conflict between the United States and the USSR that engulfed the world for more forty years can serve as a powerful lesson of how the United States has been successful in the past with the effective use of ingenuity and allied help.
Sixty years ago, Berlin became ground zero of the opening battle in the Cold War after the Soviet Union blockaded the city and refused to let supply convoys into the allied controlled western sector of Berlin. President Truman was faced with the tough choice of risking a military confrontation, ceding the city to the Soviets, or finding an alternative way to break the siege and eventually ordered the airlift that became an important allied victory in the opening years of the Cold War.
This sort of example is important because what held true 60 years ago was America’s willingness to stand up to a force of evil in the world. We did not let our moral compass be dictated by what was easy — instead, it was guided by what was right for the world and the United States. The easy way out would have been to cede the city to the Soviet Union and in the process lose the opening battle in what was to become a four decade long struggle of ideology. As McCain and Obama continue toward the November election, they need to show a willingness to reach out to allies.
But at the same time they need to realize that while allies are important, they should never get in the way of what’s best for the United States. Making a campaign speech in Berlin is nice, and the value of our allies is important – but what is most important is what is back home in America.
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