USA

If Left and Right agree, it doesn’t mean they are fascists

In the 20th century, the ultimate expression of red-brown politics — that is to say, the meeting point of far-Left and far-Right ideas — was the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, in which Stalin’s USSR and Hitler’s Germany carved up Eastern Europe between them. It came to an end when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, but the Pact stands as proof that, when it suits them, the political extremes are capable of uniting against the centre.

Earlier this month, a Gatestone Institute reader, Goh Heung Yong, submitted a comment in which he noted:

“No one should forget that it was America’s strength for freedom, that freed just about all of Asia from Japanese occupation. Her power for peace liberated half of Europe and kept Stalin’s predatory advance at bay. America still is that shining beacon for freedom and civilized existence.”

We can hope. We will need it.

As the U.S. deals with the consequences of mass immigration, important lessons can be learned from our oldest European ally.

Over the past few weeks, France has been engulfed in riots after a 17-year-old boy was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. The rioting and looting have largely been centered in communities with many migrants from North African and Islamic nations. The rioting has caused more than one billion dollars in property damage, and has led to thousands of arrests. It has also led to a renewed debate in Europe about the costs of mass migration and whether or not those costs are worth it.

While this country and its people have faced their share of difficulties — including the Great Depression, several wars, terrorist attacks and countless devastating natural disasters — we seem to be losing a key attribute of our national identity: our confidence in our ability to solve problems and achieve what was once considered “impossible.”

That confidence was born of at least three widespread attributes — initiative, gratitude and humility — which are sorely lacking at present.

Following the end of the Vietnam War and its accompanying draft, the U.S. military transformed into an all-volunteer force. In the decades that followed, the promise of good benefits, a chance for adventure, and comradery prompted swaths of Americans to give up their civilian lives to defend the freedoms of their fellow countrymen. It’s a sacrifice that has generated much-deserved respect from the nation.

But what happens when the country with the world’s most sophisticated navy no longer possesses the manpower necessary to maintain its status as a global hegemon? It’s a question the U.S. is having to grapple with as its maritime force experiences the worst personnel crisis in recent history.