Defense Against Foreign Threats Begins at Home
The world is aflame, but Americans have tired of fighting foreign wars. Understandably, most people want to focus on domestic problems. “We should fix our country first” is a popular campaign pitch.
Yet overseas threats cannot be ignored. Russia invaded its neighbor. Europe again is at war. China is expanding its military and threatening its neighbors. North Korea has become a nuclear power and is developing missiles capable of hitting the US. Iran is destabilizing the Persian Gulf, endangering the world’s chief energy lifeline. These authoritarian governments are working together against our interests.
The threats are real and will grow if America’s adversaries are able to exploit our internal differences. They know they have little chance of victory if Americans remain united. So, foreign regimes are doing their best to sow division and disorder.
Russia’s malign role is well-known. Moscow’s interference has been primarily about setting Americans against one another rather than affecting elections. The goal was to undermine our political system by disrupting the shared commitment and trust necessary for democracy to flourish. For Moscow, dissension equals victory.
China poses an even greater threat to the US home front. Beijing is well-experienced in cyber warfare. Over the last two years it has highlighted America’s domestic troubles to sell a message of US decline. The Chinese government uses its control over TikTok, an app based in China, to criticize American society, create political controversy, and divide us over issues like race.
These activities are particularly worrisome since they target the young, who will be responsible for the nation’s future. If the rising generation doesn’t believe in America and its unique mission, there will be no one to carry the banner of freedom forward at home or abroad.
Policymakers have sought to respond to past such threats with sanctions and bans, but as an open society the US will always be vulnerable to foreign meddling. Restricting free speech runs against our history and principles. Commitment to individual liberty is one of our enduring strengths. Moreover, politicians fear angering voters by limiting online choices.
Our only sure solution is to address the weaknesses that foreign governments seek to exploit. Americans must come back together. That doesn’t mean ignoring disagreements, even over important issues and basic principles. Rather, we must remember what unites us and how to cooperate with one another.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., eloquently presented such a message. He insisted that we are all equal before God and should be judged on our character. This belief empowers very different people to work together to resolve common problems. Equally important, Dr. King insisted that disagreements be resolved through nonviolence. This requires patience and forbearance but is essential for us to live in community with one another.
If we learn these lessons and put them into practice, we will frustrate foreign attacks. Thus, teaching these truths should be viewed as a form of national defense. And doing so is eminently practical. For instance, Matthew Daniels of the Institute for World Politics has fashioned the MLK Educational Initiative in collaboration with Ambassador Andrew Young.
The program is simply one example of how we can actively teach Dr. King’s unifying principles to a new generation. Dr. Daniels and Ambassador Young have also created a scholarship to identify and support future Dr. Kings who can help lead us forward. These efforts address the same generation being targeted by China and America’s other adversaries. Dr. King’s teachings have been enthusiastically received by students and educators alike.
Although transforming individual lives is the program’s immediate objective, this approach will ultimately help treat America’s ills and renew our civic life as well. Although there is no panacea for the sometimes sharp divisions among us, the better we become as individuals the more effective we will be as one people. We desperately need such a transformation.
As many countries around the globe struggle to find their way between autocracy and democracy, American leadership is ever more important. That doesn’t mean ignoring our domestic problems. Rather, addressing them is the surest way to both make America a better home and the world a safer place.
Retired Gen. Richard B. Myers is a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Emeritus of Kansas State University
