The great Henry Kissinger points out that America was clearly in an isolationist state till Teddy Roosevelt carried his big stick and big expansionist persona into the oval office in 1901. People looked at him as a crusader and a strong foreign policy leader. This is quite ironic, because former President Bush labeled the War in Iraq as a crusade for the spread of democracy and he used his power as head of state to push his own personal foreign policy agenda. One could say Bush was trying to emulate Roosevelt. However, Roosevelt’s actions were seen as patriotic and necessary at the time, while Bush’s actions for the most part have been admonished by the world.
Starting with the Spanish-American War in 1898, which was led by a then Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, America started its path to becoming a garrison state. With the likes of WWI and WWII, America took center stage as a world leader and reconciliation nation. America played that role well up until the Korean War, Vietnam War and Cold War all came to be. Collectively, these three wars lead the nation to its ultimate demise from the top of the heap. Add Desert Storm, the War in Iraq and the insurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and what you get is a war mongering nation seeking to vindicate itself as the world leader it once was. That leader is gone for good though and a new type of leader needs to come of age.
Unfortunately, America has become a second-rate country when it comes to education, GDP and technological advancements. All she (America) knows anymore is war. She is no longer the peace keeping nation. She has replaced that role with that of an insecure bully. The once glorified melting pot, is now a broken nation that needs to take a good look in the mirror and see what it has become. Inevitably, it is America’s self-righteous ignorance that has brought itself to its current state of being.
America needs a bleak light to follow and to guide her through the darkness. President Obama represents that bleak light. He preached change and convinced the majority of American’s that hope is on the way. What about this "Audacity of Hope"? What does it tell us? What does it all mean in the end? President Obama wants to lead and America needs to be led. He has a lot to fulfill and many to appease. Will it be enough to cleanse America from its erroneous past? Will America start a new chapter? All remains to be seen.