The violence in the Middle East and beyond in the Muslim world against the U.S. this week has brought foreign policy front and center of the attention of this election.
This is a very good time to think through the changing world geopolitics and the role of the U.S. in this very interesting era. Again the difference between the Obama position and Romney position couldn't be more clear. The time has come to formulate the long term U.S. Foreign Policy for the 21st century.
www.en.wikipedia.org
The right foreign policy has to come from understanding the shifting situation of the world and anticipating the shape of the future; then, coming up with the right course of the history with the U.S. playing the leading and assertive role. The insight into the right course of the history comes from understanding history, including philosophy, religion, economy, social structure, and custom/way of life.
Above all there has to be the sound understanding of the human nature. What makes the sound understanding of the human nature truly interesting is that it is not just biological, historical, sociological, psychological/religious, and economical but aspirational, and visionary.
The very foundation of the U.S. Foreign policy has to be that everybody wants freedom, independence, and good life in individual as well as collective level. The only thing is we have to earn them as an individual, and as a nation. It also means changing the status quo for everybody.
The French tried it violently more than 200 years ago but as someone pointed out it is still work in progress. Freedom, independence, and good life will be forever work in progress. That is, safe to say, the human nature.
Looking around the world, more than a hundred years of the human history is being played out right at this moment, from nomads, kingdoms, cults, and democracies. The last century is supposed to be the cruelest century with two world wars, and their industrial scale mass slaughter of people. Mark Twain may be right in saying that "Man is God's failure in creation." But then, we forget and hope again.
▲Mark Twain www.en.wikipedia,org
Speaking of God, some wonderful things come with it as well as some horrendous stuffs. Surely, the status quo is very difficult to change. God knows more than I do so that I leave it at that.
The foreign policy of U.S. is very interesting and exciting area because not only understanding the world but how to lead it without appearing like a bully are requisites to be effective. As we all know the world is slowly but surely turning into a horizontal place, and not for dictators, or a group of people.
What I know for sure is that everyone of us has a story to tell, usually, a very long story with twists and turns. The stories, the Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese have, I don't have to remind you, are long and complicated without easy happy ending. The truth is the story will never end. The foreign policy starts from that premise.
www.en.wikipedia.org
Coming back to the problems in the Middle East and the Muslim world, they are on the right side of the history, the only thing is, as we all know, it is going to be a very slow and painful process. As the cliche goes we got to play cool because their story is as complicated as the Far Eastern neighbors, if not more.
뉴욕 : 
파리 : 
서울 : 
