Anyone that's involved in the execution of a complex project, instinctively knows the pattern of the 3 Rs which goes something like this: Retrench, Rationalize and Renew.
It is that no matter how well
the component parts of the project you planned on paper have been researched
and tested for viability, the project being new and so far, a one-of-a-kind,
necessitates that you improvise in some of its places as you move into the
execution phase of the project.
What you do before starting
the execution, is stop adding to the preparations and start retrenching. You
take stock of what you have accumulated, and start the execution. You follow
the plan that you put on paper as closely as possible, but improvise in the
places where glitches and omissions appear, that were not foreseen during the
planning of the project.
You complete the work in the
sense that you incorporate into the finished product all the elements that were
acquired for it. But because you improvised in some areas, you'll find that you
went on a tangent in some places. This prompts you to rationalize what you have
constructed. It means that you trim the excesses which serve no practical or
aesthetic purpose in the project. This done, you'll have a nicely polished
piece of work that you can use to start the new era for which the project was
conceived and launched.
This pattern of the 3 Rs can
be used to launch a civic project to replace one that’s decayed. Or it can be
used to rejuvenate an aging nation, even an exhausted superpower that's lagging
behind the times. In fact, the debate has started concerning he role that the
United States should play or can play in a world that's shaping in such manner
as to pull the rug from under America's feet.
You will sense the mental
effort that's exerted to come to terms with that reality, and you can see
what's being proposed to guide America to a safe harbor, when you read two
recent articles that discuss the subject. One article came under the title: “No
matter who wins, foreign policy won't change much,” written by Daniel DePetris,
and published on November 1, 2020 in The Washington Times. The other article
came under the tile: “The Death of Exceptionalism and the Birth of a New Foreign
Policy,” written by Christopher Mott, and published also on November 1, 2020 in
The National Interest.
Daniel DePetris is the
pessimist of the two. He gives credence to the saying: “The more things change,
the more they stay the same.” He says that even if Joe Biden wins today's
election and replaces Donald Trump, there will be nothing more than cosmetic
changes taking place in America. And he laments that no change will come to
foreign policy were things count the most, and where they require the most attention.
He says he has concerns in the
following three areas:
First, he fears that the
Pentagon budget will remain gigantic. He explains that despite the pandemic
which forced the addition of more than three trillion dollars to the deficit,
the Pentagon will not contribute toward reducing that deficit, unlike the other
departments that will cut their own budgets to help.
Second, he says that China
will be the big, bad wolf. He explains that advocating for a tougher stance
against China is now the mainstream position in both parties.
Third, he predicts that
sanctions will be issued against someone each week whether they are warranted
or not. He explains that freezing assets, issuing sanctions and visa bans, and
passing secondary sanctions on trade, will continue to be the norm.
And he advises that none of
this will work because it never did. But the politicians will falsely claim
that the measures do work, says DePetris, and they'll take credit for it.
As to Christopher Mott, he is
optimistic about the future in an ironic kind of way. He says good things might
start happening to America because the country made a mess of its good fortune.
In fact, it messed up so badly in domestic and foreign affairs, he says,
America is now forced to retrench, and that's the good part.
Mott goes on to show how the
US can begin to rationalize what the situation has become, and then work on
renewing itself to face a future that will be different from the time it was
the exceptional superpower. The following is how he explained the need and the
way to rationalize what has been accomplished, thus help America renew itself
and face the future with confidence:
“That the US is an exceptional
model of policymaking that sets an example for societies all around the world,
is a flawed assumption. Currently ravaged by rioting, acrimonious domestic
debates, and possibly the least effective coronavirus response on the world
stage, the myth of American exceptionalism has never carried less cachet in
policy discussions than now. Those who seek policy alternatives have been given
an opportunity to put forward alternatives to move the US away from endless
wars and being locked-in with questionable alliances––and towards
sustainability and flexibility in the service of core interests”.
It should not be too difficult to do that when you consider that nations destroyed during five years of intense warfare, have renewed themselves in less than ten years, and became formidable powers again. America that involved itself in a seventy-year piecemeal war can certainly rebuild itself in a few years, if it breaks its addiction to wars.