In the period between the fall of Communism that happened
about a year before the decade of the Nineties, and the 9/11 event that
happened about a year after the end of the decade, the American chattering classes found
someone convenient against whom to unleash their vitriol – a pastime unique to
them. Communism, as it was represented by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact,
had become a dead horse no longer worthy of mention as being a threat to the
United States of America, and was left to decompose by itself and wither away.
Also, the idea of China ,
India or the Muslim World
looming so large – economically, militarily or otherwise – as to inherit the
mantle from Communism, was not a serious consideration even though China was Communist, and India was
pursuing a leftist ideology. This left the European Union (EU) as being the
sole candidate capable of challenging America , and would probably do so
in the decades to come while the continuing integration of the European states added
more muscle to the emerging giant. And it was this view that transformed the EU
overnight into the number one enemy of the American chattering classes.
Of course, the event of 9/11 changed all that as Europe and
everyone in it were now perceived as being members of a Western Judeo-Christian
Alliance that stood up, denounced and opposed the as yet unidentified
derivative of Islam that instantly became the number one enemy – not only of
America and the West – but of the idea of freedom itself; of civilization and
of everything that was good in life. Until that event happened on a September
day in 2001, the European Union remained in the crosshairs of the American
chattering classes.
Alongside an undercurrent to the effect that the EU was a
rival that must be watched with dread, the American Right attacked it because
it represented big government that promoted the welfare state and brought about
an abundance of regulations. As to the American Left, it attacked the EU
because it did nothing to support the efforts of the United Nations in
advancing the cause of peace in the world, and did little to promote a more
equitable distribution of wealth among the nations.
But the most virulent attacks originated with those who
later came to be known as the Evangelicals. These were people that held such
pessimistic views about humanity; it was hard to believe they were the
descendents of people who, three decades previous, were preaching optimistic
views about the future of humanity. Whereas the television pastors of the
Sixties interpreted the scripture to mean that the capture of Jerusalem by the
Jews heralded the second coming of Jesus and the upcoming redemption of
humanity, the pastors of the Nineties interpreted the same scripture to mean
that the EU Beast was going to unleash Armageddon on God's chosen people, the
Jews of Israel who must be protected so as to protect America itself.
Then came the event of 9/11 as mentioned earlier, and the
crosshairs shifted to point at Islam – now identified as being radical – which
instantly became the new enemy of America where it was attacked by both the
Right and the Left, each conducting the assault from its ideological point of
view. As to the Evangelicals, they dropped the idea of the EU being a beast
about to unleash Armageddon on Israel in favor of adopting the view that the
Muslims – radical or not – aimed to conquer the world, turn it into a Muslim
Caliphate, convert everyone to Islam, and impose Sharia law everywhere.
Now the pertinent question: Where to from here with regard
to America 's
chattering classes? Honestly, nobody knows because nobody can see the future.
But those we call futurists who make a living predicting the things that
sometimes come true, base their predictions on what they see in the current
trend. They extrapolate from it what looks probable, and paint a future that
sounds plausible enough to convince the public it will happen as predicted or
close to that.
We can do likewise, and base our prediction on the trend set
by one of the most influential members of the chattering classes. He is George
F. Will, a syndicated columnist who wrote “A Europe of Nations” which also came
under the subtitle: “It has fallen on the continent's minor parties to insist
on national sovereignty.” The column was published on June 14, 2014 in National
Review Online among a number of other publications.