Mayan leaders in Guatemala are going to cleanse the spirit of one of their temples following Presdient Bush’s recent visit there. Great. Yet another example of great feeling toward the U.S.
Is this deserved? Is this a fair gesture toward not just the President but our country? It doesn’t really matter. The fact is, it is the attitude of more and more people around the world.
There’s resentment towards our political and economic preeminence in the world. And there is legitimate resentment towards our heavy-handed, arrogant approach to world affairs.
So what’s the solution? The right set of policies? Certain alliances? Proper diplomatic strategy?
David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post today about “Second Chance,” a book by Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser under Carter. In it, he says that it really isn’t about policies or strategies. Rather so much can be done just through the behavior of our presidency and how we present ourselves to the rest of the world.
More than anything, he argues, the rest of the world is striving for dignity, for respect. If our materially-crazed nation continues to run around the globe running over economies and the environment, invading sovereign nations with no respect for other countries, we will continue to be more and more despised. But if we can more display our own humanity, our humility, our own similarity to all the other people’s of the world, we can earn their respect and their friendship. And the chief exporter of this image of who we are sits with the presidency.
It is all about how the presidency provides an opportunity for much more than just politics and policy, but a platform for moral leadership. And Ignatius concludes that of course my man, Barack Obama, is the person best suited to take up Brzezinski’s call and restore our standing in the world. Let’s hope it happens!
