Unpublished Article
Not to be distributed without author's permission
Michael E. Salla, PhD
American University
msalla@american.edu
As the second American century is about to begin, America
finds itself well into its seventh hero's journey. It has reached a point
in its journey that will launch it into a more assertive and moral foreign
policy course. This is made possible by America discovering its seventh
'grand synthesis' of power and morality in responding to foreign policy
challenges. Internal conflicts, and the humanitarian crises and massive
human rights violations they generate, form the current foreign policy
challenge to which policy makers are responding. America's leadership in
NATO's intervention in the Kosova crisis is the high water mark for America's
'grand synthesis' that can extend well into the next century.
The hero's journey was described by the mythologist
Joseph Campbell in his ground breaking book, The Hero's Journey. He
argued that the hero's journey was a 'monomyth' that could be found in
all societies. The monomyth was that the hero would go through different
stages of a journey of self-empowerment and self-discovery that would forever
change both the hero and the society in which he lived. Campbell's ideas
were so influential that George Lucas used them in writing the script for
the original Star Wars trilogy. The success of Star Wars supports Campbell's
belief that the hero's journey resonates deep within the collective unconscious
of all societies.
The first stage of the hero's journey, the 'call to adventure',
begins with the hero feeling discontent with the dominant values of his
society. The hero then sets out to find a new set of values by which to
live. In the process, the hero detaches himself from the practices and
beliefs of his former life. In the second stage, the hero undergoes an
arduous series of challenges to prove his self-worth. This is the heart
of the hero's journey since it is here that the hero discovers himself.
Two challenges are central in this stage. One is to overcome a fragmented
sense of self that breeds self-doubt. The other is to discover one's 'life
mission'. The sense of deja vu that is often experienced here makes this
more of a recovery of something lost than a discovery of something completely
new. This stage of the hero's journey can therefore be described as the
'great remembering'.
In the third stage, the 'return to society', the hero
returns to his society with the charismatic energy and moral vision to
reform it. The hero becomes a great moral teacher, enlightened political
leader, or visionary prophet. The critical component in the return to society
is that the hero has achieved a synthesis of moral vision and worldly power
that forever alters the society in which he lives. King Solomon of ancient
Israel, the Persian Emperor Cyrus, the Buddhist King Asoka, the Prophet
Muhammad, and even Napoleon early in his career are examples of heros that
achieved such a synthesis.
According to Campbell, the hero's journey is a linear
process that ends with the hero's return to society. He overlooked, however,
a fourth stage that turns this linear journey into a moral cycle. The 'deep
forgetting' is where the hero's synthesis of moral vision and worldly power
collapses. Due to a range of factors - fear, pursuit of power or materialism
- the hero forgets the lessons learnt in his 'great remembering'. It is
here that the great moral teacher become a self-righteous judge, that the
enlightened political leader becomes a self-serving tyrant, and that the
visionary prophet becomes religious fundamentalist. This sets in place
the need for a new hero's journey that makes the journey a cycle that can
be repeated any number of times.
Rather than applying exclusively to individuals, the hero's
journey can be applied to states. States are the institutional representations
of a complex web of relationships between individuals, social groups and
political institutions that combine to infuse morality into the foreign
policy making process. This makes states moral actors that can undertake
the hero's journey.
The single most important factor for explaining how states
transit from one stage of the hero's journey to the next is the dominant
'national mood' at any one time. Like the tides of the ocean that shift
in accord to the magnetic pull of the moon, so too do national moods shift.
What accounts for these shifts is still not clear. In his The Cycles
of American History, Arthur Schlesinger Jr, has argued that these cyclic
shifts are due to generational changes. Others cite economic cycles, a
combination of international and domestic factors that bring new policy
makers to power, or even the astrological influence of the planets and
stars. Despite the controversy over the origin of these mood shifts and
their relatively small size quantitatively speaking, their significance
may be huge in qualitative terms. In a liberal democracy, for example,
a mere shift of 5% of a nation's population in any election may result
in a landslide for a new government. New policy makers come into power
who believe they have the mandate to radically change the course of domestic
and foreign policy. States then move forward in their hero's journey.
The first stage of the hero's journey for states, the
'call to adventure', is where the national mood shifts into discontentment
with the dominant foreign policy principles and practices in place at the
time. Political leaders set out to define or establish a new moral vision
for the nation. This will involve some degree of withdrawal from the way
world politics is practiced. Here the national mood reflects an implicit
belief in the moral, economic or political superiority of one's state,
but no consensus exists on how to translate this into an effective foreign
policy program that can decisively influence world politics. Nevertheless,
the state has begun its hero's journey.
A further shift in the national mood leads to the next
stage of the hero's journey, the 'great remembering'. For states, this
has two components. The first is to unify all the heterogenous elements
of the state so that it becomes an economically productive and unified
political actor. Domestic policies are crafted that aim at economic renewal
and reconciling past divisions in society. In short, unity becomes the
buzzword for national renewal. The second component is to define the 'national
mission' through a new moral vision. Typically, the moral vision of a state's
'Founding Fathers' is the key to unlocking the secret of the nation's mission.
An attempt is made is to reinterpret the significance of the Founding Fathers
moral vision in the present set of social and historic conditions in which
the state finds itself.
A further shift in the national mood leads to the 'return
to international society'. This is where the state as a unified actor with
a clear moral vision sets out to influence the dominant practices and value
system in the international system. The state devotes its energies and
national resources to this task. As for the individual hero, so too for
the state, the key to this stage of the journey is the synthesis of moral
vision and real world power possessed by the state. This 'grand synthesis'
of morality and power can be achieved by maintaining and renewing the national
unity and moral vision at the heart of the 'great remembering'.
A further shift in national mood leads to the break down
of the 'grand synthesis'. The 'return to international society' is over
and the final stage of the hero's journey, the 'deep forgetting', has begun.
A range of factors can account for this shift in national mood. Public
opinion can discern that the state is really using morality as a cloak
for merely aggrandizing itself. A significant set of foreign policy failures
may lead to the public questioning the effort to reform world politics.
Alternatively, the national economy may strain under the expense of committing
resources to foreign policy goals. The state then channels its energies
into the domestic arena. The hero's journey is at an end. In time, the
need for a new hero's journey begins to be felt. In this way, states can
undergo a number of hero's journeys. The historian's task then becomes
to discern the shifts in national mood and state policy that demarcate
the different stages of the hero's journey.
America's first journey(1764 - 1823) - Beacon for Liberty and Democracy
America's first hero's
journey begins with events leading up to the revolutionary war of independence.
America's Founding Fathers firmly believed that the successful establishment
of America as a Republic was an act of Providence. Providence was lending
a hand to the beginning of a 'great experiment' where liberty, democracy
and rule of law would be the guiding principles of a new society on the
North American continent. Ensuring the success of America as a republic
and democracy would be no easy task. Never before in history had this form
of government been attempted on such a vast scale. Moreover, monarchical
forms of government were the norm in Europe and republicanism was widely
seen as an unstable and dangerous experiment that had repeatedly failed
in the past. America's hero journey would be to make successful a form
of government that ran against the trends of history and denied conventional
thinking at the time.
The first stage of the
journey for America began with its withdrawal from the unjust taxation
policies of colonial Britain from 1764-1776. The pre-revolutionary opposition
to unrepresentative taxation was America's 'call to adventure'. The second
stage of America's journey was the independence struggle and the effort
to create a united and stable American republic covering the years from
1776-1789. This
was America's 'great remembering' since the seeds for the principles of
liberty, democracy and rule of law could all be found in the Royal Charters
permitting the establishment of English colonies in the New World. The
'great remembering' was an attempt by the American colonies to apply the
underlying moral principles dating from their establishment to the political
environment in which they now found themselves.
The years from 1789 -
1815 were America's 'return to international society'. Trade between the
new American Republic and the European continent was vital to the growth
and well being of America. This was threatened by the Napoleonic wars in
Europe where belligerents and privateers would attack the merchant shipping
of their rivals and of neutral nations. It was critical for America to
ensure the safety of its citizens on the high seas and the right of neutral
nations to trade freely. This was the basis of America's first 'grand synthesis'.
Enforcing this 'grand synthesis' brought America into conflict first with
France in an undeclared naval war (1798-1800); the Barbary Pirates in a
joint naval and military campaign (1804); and then with Britain in the
War of 1812-1814.
After the crushing defeat
of Napoleon, Spain found it difficult to restore control over its restless
colonies. Inspired by revolutionary ideals of liberty and democratic government,
the colonies valiantly struggled for their independence. From 1815-1822
numerous republics were declared all over Latin America. Throughout this
time, President Monroe refused to formally support the revolutionary forces
or to extend recognition to America's sister republics. A recognition resolution
introduced into the House of Representatives by supporters of the American
republics in March 1818 failed due to the opposition of the Monroe administration.
The lack of formal government support for principles at the center of American
national identity from 1815-1822 was America's 'deep forgetting'.
The Second Hero's Journey (1823 - 1855 ) 'Rule of Law' and 'Manifest Destiny'
The declaration of the
Monroe Doctrine in 1823 was the start of a new hero's journey for America.
The bold announcement of the Doctrine by President Monroe was a belated
assertion of the new national mood that America would promote principles
of international law for the newly independent republics in the Western
hemisphere. These new republics needed to be supported against possible
foreign interference. This was vitally important to America since the republican
form of government it embodied was being eliminated in Europe by interventions
by the Holy Alliance in the early 1820's. America needed to ensure this
would not be repeated in the Western hemisphere. Promoting international
law was therefore a rejection of the Holy Alliance's policy of intervening
to prevent the overthrow of monarchical governments by republican forces.
America 'call to adventure' covered the years from 1823-31 and was the
first stage of its second hero's journey.
During
the years from 1831 - 1837, the issues that dominated public debate were
how to deal with the America's indigenous peoples, slavery, and the annexation
of Texas. In finding a response to these issues, America would establish
a foundation for a more vigorous intervention in support of the moral vision
and principles at the heart of its national identity. This was America's
'great remembering' as it laid the basis for what would be the next stage
in America's hero's journey - the 'return to international society'.
America's
example as a beacon of liberty, democracy and rule of law would mean that
more territories in the Western hemisphere would either want to join the
American Federation or incorporate these principles into their own countries.
This meant that territorial expansion would be inevitable as territories
rushed to join America. The national mood swung solidly behind the idea
of 'manifest destiny' which reached its zenith during the years from 1837
- 1845. The territories of Texas and Oregon were annexed to the Republican
government both with the support of the respective territory's population.
America's second 'grand synthesis' was based on combining the liberty of
a territory's population to choose its government and America's territorial
expansion. This marked America's 'return to international society'.
'Manifest
destiny' initially showed itself as an idea that synthesized power and
morality. In the territories of Texas and Oregon, largely populated by
American immigrants who overwhelmingly desired incorporation into the Union,
'manifest destiny' was a godsend. In other territories, where other peoples
lived who did not desire incorporation into the Union, 'manifest destiny'
became shorn of its moral dimension and became little more than imperialism.
During the years 1846 - 1855, America began its 'deep forgetting'. It became
an imperialistic power that expanded its territory irrespective of the
will of the majority of the population in the annexed territories.
The Third Hero's Journey - Civil War & the Monroe Doctrine 1855 -1889
Throughout the years
of America's rapid territorial expansion, the slavery issue was never far
away in Congressional debates. Indeed, Northern anti-slavery forces were
strongly against acquiring any further territory from a weak Mexico that
might lead to more 'slave territory'. The movement away from schemes at
further expansion of American territory reflected the growing opposition
to slavery in the North. The years from 1855-1861 saw America withdrawing
from its earlier foreign policies of manifest destiny and territorial expansion.
America had responded to the 'call to adventure'.
During
the Civil War, the principles of liberty, democracy and rule of law were
interpreted by President Lincoln in a way that made ending the rebellion
a fulfillment of the moral vision of the Founding Fathers. The civil war
and mild reconstruction policies of Presidents Lincoln and Johnson were
America's 'great remembering' and spanned the years 1861-67. America was
now ready for its 'return to international society' through a more assertive
and moral foreign policy program.
In
the midst of the Civil War, a brazen challenge to the Monroe Doctrine had
been posed by military intervention by France in Mexico. Here was as clear
a challenge to the principle of non-interference by European powers in
Latin America as could be imagined. A European autocrat, Napoleon III of
France, was attempting to establish by force of arms a puppet state. The
Mexican republican government was forcibly removed and it began a desperate
guerrilla struggle against the French supported regime. The national mood
had swung behind immediate enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine through military
force if necessary. France subsequently withdrew from Mexico in 1868. America's
'return to international society' firmly established in the mind of European
states that America was serious about excluding them from Latin America.
America's third 'grand synthesis was to ensure the political independence
of Latin American states.
The
years beginning with the second Ulysses Grant administration and ending
with the Grover Cleveland administration (1873 - 1889) saw America concentrate
her energies on industrialization and Westward expansion. Westward expansion
was having a devastating effect on the remaining lands left to the native
American population. Initial concern over the fair treatment of emancipated
slaves in the Southern states in the era of radical reconstruction (1866-72)
gave way to disinterest. In
effect, the principles of liberty and rule of law at the heart of America's
'great remembering' were largely ignored forgotten for Indians and African
Americans. This was America's 'deep forgetting'.
Fourth Hero's Journey (1889 - 1913) - America becomes a Great Power
The seeds for America's
journey to great power status lay in a renewed effort to promote the Monroe
Doctrine. William Harrison was elected in 1888 and was determined to prevent
possible European interference in the Western hemisphere. He wanted to
legitimate the Monroe Doctrine, and hosted a Pan-American meeting in Washington
in October 1889. Though the results were disappointing, the meeting signaled
America's willingness to support the independence of Western hemisphere
states through Pan-American cooperation. President Harrison's willingness
to assert the Monroe Doctrine was America's 'call to adventure' for a new
hero's journey.
The 'great remembering'
in America's fourth hero's journey was its support for principles of self-determination
and democracy in the remaining Spanish colonies. The national mood had
swung behind strongly supporting Cuban insurgents in their independence
struggle against Spanish rule. This culminated in America declaring war
on Spain in 1898 and committing itself to the goal of Cuban independence.
America's defeat of Spain
and acquisition of a colonial empire marked it as a new great power. In
contrast to the other great powers, America's behavior as a colonial ruler
would be benign since it would promote self-government in territories and
prepare them for political independence. This was America's forth 'grand
synthesis' of power and morality in responding to foreign policy challenges.
As a signal of America's benevolent intentions, Cuba was granted its independence
in 1902 after a short education in democratic governance. Other captured
territories also began to be educated in democratic governance as a gesture
to eventual independence. America's effort at a benign form of colonialism
was a 'return to international society'.
Under President Roosevelt
(1901-1909) America moved towards a revised version of manifest destiny
based on 'social Darwinism'. This reflected a shift in national mood to
the view that the Anglo-Saxon, with his political institutions and culture,
was destined to dominate international affairs. The successful conclusion
of the Spanish-American War confirmed America as a great power with an
overseas Empire from which it could secure its national interests elsewhere.
Contrary to earlier indications that the former Spanish territories would
be prepared for independence, America gave no timetable for their eventual
release. America's 'grand synthesis' in preparing overseas territories
for independence began to unravel. 'Benign colonialism' resembled European
imperialism. America had entered its 'deep forgetting'.
The fifth Hero's Journey - 1913 - 41 Democracy & Global Order
America's fifth hero's
journey began with the election of Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Wilson was opposed
to the 'imperialism' and 'dollar diplomacy' of the Roosevelt and Taft administrations.
Wilson did not approve of intervention for the sake of American political
or economic interests as a great power. Instead, he supported the creation
of stable democracies in Western hemisphere states. When the democratically
elected Mexican government was overthrown by reactionary forces in 1913,
Wilson ordered military intervention that restored the overthrown government.
This was an astonishing departure from the historic American policy of
recognizing foreign governments no matter how they had come to power. America's
'call to adventure' had begun with Wilson's support for promoting democracy
in the Western hemisphere.
American interventionism
in the Western hemisphere was overshadowed by the beginning of the First
World War in 1914. Efforts to promote democracy in the Western hemisphere
was replaced by concern for supporting European democracies in the war
against German imperialism. From 1914 - 1917, America's neutrality policy
moved gradually towards outright support of the European democracies. The
support for the principle and practice of democracy in Europe was America's
'great remembering'.
America finally entered
the First World War in 1917 and Wilson justified it as a crusade to support
the principles of democracy and self-determination. He believed that only
shaping a new world order on these principles could justify the massive
American commitment to the Allied war effort. Wilson was therefore instrumental
in creating the League of Nations and supporting the freedom of new states
from the empires of the defeated powers. Entering the war in support of
democracy, establishing the League of nations and promoting self-determination
were all part of America's fifth 'grand synthesis' of power and morality.
This was America's 'return to international society'.
Unfortunately for Wilson,
the Senate twice refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles that contained
the provisions for entry into the League of Nations. Despite the grandeur
and depth of Wilson's vision, he badly managed the political process needed
to ratify the treaty. Republicans in the Senate had rejected Wilson's synthesis
of power and morality. The National mood gradually swung behind the Republican
leadership. America withdraw from the international system and left Europe
to manage its own affairs. The years from 1919 to 1931 were America's deep
forgetting.
Sixth Hero's Journey (1931-71) - The Second World War & the Cold War
America's absence in
the League of Nations meant it was not part of the League's formal efforts
to present a credible international response to military aggression. However,
in the international crisis that unfolded with Japan's invasion of Manchuria
in 1931, America played an informal role in helping the League respond.
With the election of Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, America once again moved
decisively towards outright support for the principles of democracy, non-aggression
and self-determination. While America would not respond militarily to the
aggression of Fascist states in the 1930's, it would use its diplomatic
leverage to support the League's effort to deter further expansion. America's
'call to adventure' had begun with its clear opposition to Japanese militarism
in the Far East.
The main problems confronted
by President Roosevelt with the beginning of the Second World war were
similar to that faced by President Wilson in the First World War. Could
American unity be maintained in the face of divided public opinion over
the merits of staying out of or entering the war? How should European democracy
be supported in a struggle against countries wanting to extinguish the
candle of democracy and impose some form of authoritarianism on unwilling
populations? America's 'great remembering' involved a gradual process of
coming to terms with these two questions.
In
his 1941 inaugural address, Roosevelt had clearly made up his made about
the Nazi menace to democracy in Europe and ultimately to America. However,
he was unable to get America to enter the war until Japan's attack on Pearl
Harbor, and Hitler's and Mussolini's declarations of war against America.
After the eventual defeat of the Axis powers, Roosevelt avoided Woodrow
Wilson's tragic errors and succeeded in gaining Senate ratification for
the League's successor, the United Nations in 1945. With the new threat
posed by the Soviet Union and the ineffectiveness of the UN, President
Truman announced his doctrine of containing Soviet communism anywhere in
the world. The establishment of NATO and the UN action in Korea were examples
of the Truman Doctrine in practice. The period from 1940 to 1956 was a
transition from fighting against Nazism to containing Soviet Communism.
The national mood had swung from isolationism to supporting the principles
of liberty, democracy and self-determination wherever they were practiced.
This was America's sixth 'grand synthesis' of power and morality, and marked
America's 'return to international society'.
The Truman doctrine had
the seeds of what would become America's 'deep forgetting'. Communism in
Europe was genuinely unpopular given the democratic heritage of European
states, and the undemocratic way in which Central and Eastern European
states had been turned into Soviet satellites. Self-determination had clearly
been violated these cases. The same, however, could not be said for communism
in Asia. Communist ideology was widely adopted by nationalists as a tool
for liberating peoples from colonial control and exploitation from colonial
elites. Attempts at encouraging democracy were dismissed as a means of
former colonial powers maintaining a more indirect means of control through
local elites - 'neo-colonialism'. To maintain or impose democratic governments
on populations suspicious of neo-colonialism ultimately was to deny the
principle of self-determination.
America's misguided attempt
to roll back popular nationalist movements that used elements of communist
ideology in their programs, forced these movements to rely more heavily
on the Soviet Union and China for support. America's opposition to such
movements led to it supporting corrupt and unpopular 'democratic' regimes.
This began with the case of North Vietnam in 1956 and ended with the collapse
of South Vietnam in 1974. The 'crusade against communism' irrespective
of the wishes of the local population led to the unraveling of sixth 'grand
synthesis'. America once more had entered into a 'deep forgetting'.
America's Seventh Hero's Journey - 1974 - Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention
The Vietnam war saw a
decisive shift in the national mood. Many Americans deplored the human
rights violations by the corrupt and repressive South Vietnamese government.
Congress began passing legislation supporting greater respect for human
rights by American allies in the struggle to contain communism. The shift
towards a more moral American foreign policy that emphasized human rights
culminated in the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter elevated human
rights to the center stage of American foreign policy. While the struggle
against communism still continued, to get American support a regime would
have to do more than rest on its anti-communist credentials. More respect
had to be shown for human rights and for establishing democratic reforms
based on free and fair elections in a multiparty system. Carter's human
rights policy was a 'call to adventure'. America had begun its seventh
hero's journey.
The American Congress
and President Carter asserted that American foreign policy had to be based
on a human rights principles without seriously compromising its strategic
national interests. Despite the anti-communist emphasis of the Reagan administration,
it essentially maintained Carter's elevation of human rights as an important
part of the policy making process. Under the Bush and Clinton administrations,
human rights was broadened to include humanitarian concerns and the rights
of ethnic minorities. America's seventh 'great remembering' from 1981 to
1995, was a reinterpretation of the founding father's principles of liberty,
democracy and rule of law through the contemporary lens of human rights
and global humanitarianism. America
was poised for its seventh 'grand synthesis' of power and morality that
would launch it into a new foreign policy direction.
Bill Clinton won the
1992 Presidential elections and wanted to continue an interventionist foreign
policy program which would focus on promoting democracy, protecting human
rights and alleviating humanitarian catastrophes. Disaster struck in Somalia
in 1993 with the death of 17 American soldiers in a firefight. This brought
a halt to the early optimism that overwhelming military power could achieve
desirable foreign policy outcomes in internal conflicts. This shift in
the national mood was only brief. When American inaction contributed to
the massive human rights atrocities in Rwanda (1994), the national mood
swung around again to supporting decisive military action to prevent similar
human rights violations. Clinton was then able to finally approve decisive
military action to end the Bosnian civil war in 1995.
The
Kosova crisis in 1998-99 marked an important watershed in American foreign
policy. It signaled what would be a major preoccupation in the Second American
century. The Kosova crisis unfolded in early 1998 when Yugoslav security
forces began a scorched earth policy against the Kosova Liberation Army.
In October, Richard Holbrooke brought about a settlement that would at
least stop the conflict over the harsh Balkan winter. In February 1999,
however, Serb forces began a systematic attempt to cleanse large portions
of Kosova of its Albanian population. The Clinton administration was forced
to take a fundamental decision. Due to Russian opposition, there was no
explicit UN Security Council support for military intervention either by
the UN or NATO. With strong support from Britain's Tony Blair, Clinton
decided that the authority of NATO as a European security body of 19 nations
that operated on consensus was sufficient legitimacy for military action
to begin. NATO authorized military intervention over the months of March
and April 1999. The air campaign succeeded in bringing Milosevic to accept
peace on NATO's terms. Clinton had won a stunning victory that surprised
his critics on both the right and left who argued respectively that an
air campaign would not be enough to end the crisis or that he had been
too quick to commence the air campaign.
Coming towards the end
of the Clinton administration, the Kosova crisis has resulted in American
foreign policy taking a decisive shift. Through the prestige and authority
of NATO, America can play a much more proactive role in responding to international
crises. With the prospect of UN Security Council support for similar Kosova
like interventions unlikely, NATO has already taken preliminary steps to
fill the breach. At NATO's 50th anniversary celebration in Washington,
DC., a new strategic vision for NATO was agreed upon which would enable
it to operate in future Kosova like crises. America through NATO is therefore
ready to respond to international crises involving human rights violations
and humanitarian concerns in the 21st century. America, for the seventh
time in its history, has established a 'grand synthesis' of power and morality
in its foreign policy.
Maintaining America's 'Grand Synthesis' of Power and Morality in the Second American Century.
The second American century
promises to be one in which America casts a decisive influence. The most
likely source of conflict will be internal conflicts involving minorities
struggling against central governments for greater political and economic
rights. The potential for massive human rights violations and humanitarian
crises will loom large in the minds of policy makers. Maintaining America's
seventh 'grand synthesis' far into the 21st century depends on how well
political leaders can respond to the national mood to adequately intervene
in internal conflicts.
A host of domestic and
international factors can significantly impact on the national mood presently
behind support for American leadership in responding to internal conflicts.
Domestically, issues concerning minority rights, racial reconciliation,
and poverty relief can all impact on the national mood. A robust national
economy will be important in responding to domestic concerns over the costs
of maintaining the military preparedness to intervene in internal conflicts.
The single most important factor in maintaining public support for America's seventh 'grand synthesis', will be to promote multilateralism in future interventions in internal conflicts. The most desirable multilateral forum is the United Nations. However, NATO needs to be maintained as a suitable alternative due to the real possibility of a veto of UN action by Russia or China. Similarly, regional bodies such as the Organization of American States or the Organization of African Unity will be desirable fora for launching multilateral interventions. Failure to promote multilateral interventions in internal conflicts may quickly lead to a shift in the national mood against intervention in internal conflicts. This would mark the transition into a new 'deep forgetting'.
Faithfully applying the
moral principles of America's Founding Fathers to the contingencies posed
by internal conflicts will be essential in maintaining America's seventh
'grand synthesis'. If policy makers heed this advice, the positive effects
of America's seventh hero's journey can be extended far into the Second
American Century