The story of America: From freedom to fear

We have faced many adversaries. Yet we have seldom sunk to their level. Unfortunately, the last two decades has seen us increasingly embrace their negatives narratives.

George W. Bush’s war on terror and Barack Obama’s countering of violent extremism are prime examples. We have become a country more consumed with what we are fighting against than what we stand for in the world. As Donald Trump prepares to assume the presidency, this trend appears set to significantly accelerate.

{mosads}If it does, we will have fully surrendered one of our most powerful weapons: international inspiration.

For centuries, one of the defining features of America’s response to tyranny and oppression were hope and freedom. Even in the face of grave threats, we held ourselves to a higher standard. Our mission was more than defeating one nation’s enemy: We framed our actions as securing the liberties that illuminate the aspirations of people the world over.

Seventy-five years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s State of the Union address spoke of America’s commitment to a universal struggle for four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. No one embodies the abandonment of this worldview more than Donald “Dump ’em all” Trump. His version of the speech might well be renamed the four fears: fear of Islam, fear of trade, fear of Mexico and well, pretty much fear of anything foreign.

The consequences of this shift go beyond a diminished moral authority. We have ceded large swaths of the moral high ground, from which we derived substantial security dividends. Thriving on our abandonment of positive principles, radical messaging has recently found surprising resonance. This has significant national security implications. Indeed, extremists from Vladimir Putin to ISIS have gained strategic strength as we strayed from speaking about universal values and an unequivocal defense of a global good.

Russia justified its defense of Bashar Assad in Syria, for example, by copying language from our stated mission there to “counter extremists.” If we had described among our goals in Syria the protection of civilians or even just small children, Russia would have had a harder time defending their bombings of homes, schools and hospitals.

It isn’t new or naive. We did it successfully in Kosovo. Former President Clinton told the nation and the world our primary goal was “to deter an even bloodier offensive against innocent civilians … to seriously damage the Serbian military’s capacity to harm the people of Kosovo.” At the end of the 20th century, we were still the nation that met adversity with aspiration.

That changed after Sept. 11, 2001. Under Bush, we became so myopically focused on defeating al Qaeda, we lost some of our values and our vision.

At the beginning of his term, President Obama prioritized withdrawing from Iraq and winding down our engagement in Afghanistan. His famous 2009 Cairo speech tried to atone and set a new tone for relations with the Muslim world. I tuned in while serving on a base outside of Tikrit, Iraq. He reaffirmed our core principles, but also acknowledged the limits of Americans’ willingness to spend blood and treasure in their defense. We would be more hopeful, but cautious. Indeed, our involvement in Libya, Syria and Egypt played out that pragmatic position.

But when ISIS emerged we fell back fully into the Bush-era messaging trap. Obama’s speech spoke of how would “degrade and destroy” them. He detailed extensively their evil acts. Humanitarian protection was now reduced to humanitarian assistance for displaced refugees. We were less hopeful for the world and more driven out of fear.

Into this negative narrative walked Trump. Fully embracing America’s pre-World War II predilection for isolation, he assures us we have few moral responsibilities to others. The modern-day Wendell Willkie promises to return our nation to a position of strength — perhaps to the 1950s? Ironically, he came after we embraced our obligation to others, articulated their causes as our own, and projected a hopeful message around the globe.

If we are to recapture our greatness, it requires actively defending the universal values that gave rise to the American century. As this century started, our leaders too often lost sight of its critical role in our foreign policy. We met danger with fear. We regularly responded to threats in kind. Even in the darkest hours of World War II, FDR reminded the country that we would not prevail by embracing the tactics of our adversaries. That message gave us more than a moral compass. It served as a nearly impenetrable national symbol to the world.

When we rediscover and project such principled power, we can truly make America great again.

Brett Bruen was director of Global Engagement in President Obama’s White House. He is currently president of the consulting firm Global Situation Room and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the Federal Executive Institute.

The views of Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.