Editor’s Note: Most U.S. adults plan to watch some or most of tonight’s presidential debate and many think the event will be important for the campaigns of both President Joe Biden and former President, Donald Trump, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. It’s likely that some of the issues Gen. Smith brings to light in this column will be discussed. The debate will be broadcast on CNN at 9:00 pm ET.
Folks, it may be time to kick back and ask ourselves some tough questions about America today, tomorrow, and well into the future.
When I was a cadet at West Point, our leaders kept imploring us to look at the “Big Picture.” By the time I got to graduate school, the term of choice became “Be Strategic.” Much later, when I served as the Air Force planner in the Pentagon, the term “Long Range Thinking” became the most common expression. Other terms of the note include, “get out of the weeds” and “look at the forest and not just the trees.” The most recent term is “Longpath” (from the book with the same name).
With the long term in mind, let’s examine both the international and domestic scenes. Most of the news is uplifting.
- Under both Trump and Biden, America has taken important steps to constrain, contain, and deter the People’s Republic of China.
- The heavy burden of autocracy has been lifted from the people of India. Modi thought he was on a roll. The recent election proved him dead wrong.
- In the recent elections for the European parliament, the “center held.” The two largest parties remain comfortably in charge and in the political center. They control 60% of the seats.
- The American economy has become the envy of the world. Inflation is down. GDP is growing robustly; unemployment is near all-time lows. Our energy production far exceeds any other nation. The American stock market keeps hitting historic highs.
- The NATO alliance has been strengthened with the recent addition of Finland and Sweden. Their geographic location is ideal.
- Japan has made a commitment to double its defense budget. This is a big deal. An increase of more than $50 billion per year.
- Jurors in New York and Delaware made historic decisions. Our justice system worked. Our celebrated jury system worked. The rule of law worked. James Madison and John Jay would be delighted.
- Locally, our citizens voted YES on the enhanced role of the mayor. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor. I thought the vote would be close. I was wrong.
- With the end of the COVID crisis. Folks are returning to churches, temples, and synagogues. A good example is Saint Paul’s Church. A downtown Augusta church, adjacent to the Riverwalk, Saint Paul’s has dynamic and creative new leadership. For the first time in decades, Saint Paul’s has no debt. The elegant River Room attracts many groups: weekly Kiwanis meetings, wedding receptions, proms, graduations, recurring business meetings, and fundraisers.
Let me close with one of my favorite quotes. “The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.”
