If not us, who?

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made many speeches in his day. But one of the most significant was not made in Parliament, to his nation, or during the war. It was made in 1946, months after the war ended. He delivered it in Fulton, Missouri, of all places. His address to Westminster College was about how the world order had significantly changed in the months following the end of World War II. The relationships between the great powers had fundamentally altered in a short time frame, and he correctly predicted it would have a profound affect on the future. It was the first use of the phrase "Iron Curtain". Just months earlier the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union had been allied to win the war against Germany and Japan. But in the aftermath, Josef Stalin was exerting massive pressure on eastern Europe. The alliance between the three great powers that had won the war was quickly shifting. Churchill foresaw the start of the cold war that lasted decades until the splintering of the Soviet Union in 1991. There was another significant speech just a few days ago in Davos, Switzerland. You may have missed it, preoccupied by the ice on our roads and the ICE killing of a nurse in Minneapolis while exercising his right to speak in protest. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in office for less than a year, spoke to the World Economic Forum about a major shift in the relationship between nations in the last few months. He stated that it may now be the time for "middle powers" to take the lead if the United States is unilaterally stepping aside from being "Leader of the Free World". The US has played that role for decades — economically, militarily, politically, and culturally. But isolationist policies with never-ending shifts in foreign policy and trade policy have caused many around the world to now view us as an unreliable partner. Carney wants a more stable world order, as he should. His "middle powers" speech at Davos may be regarded by historians as having a similar long term impact as the 1946 Churchill remarks. He included a portion of an essay from Czechoslovakia: "In 1978, the Czech dissident Václav Havel wrote an essay called The Power of the Powerless. In it, he asked a simple question: how did the communist system sustain itself? His answer began with a greengrocer. Every morning, this shopkeeper places a sign in his window: "Workers of the world, unite!" He does not believe it. No one believes it. But he places the sign anyway — to avoid trouble, to signal compliance, to get along. And because every shopkeeper on every street does the same, the system persists. Not through violence alone, but through the participation of ordinary people in rituals they privately know to be false. So, if Canada and other "middle powers" are no longer willing to blindly follow US foreign policy, will they replace us on the world stage? Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull later echoed and reinforced Carney's remarks, calling it a "tipping point". Although little noticed in much of the American news media, Carney received worldwide news coverage. American government foreign policy should be established after careful consideration by both the legislative and executive branches, in consultation with allies who share our values. It is a distressing day when other nations view US leadership as erratic and suspect. The United States has for decades had a bipartisan foreign policy led by professionals, rooted in our core values. But it depends on having adults in the room. Mark Carney's Davos speech shows how countries like Canada must take the lead to spread democracy and rules-based order if we will not. Power abhors a vacuum. If not us, who? Better Canada than China. Better South Korea than Russia. Better Australia than Saudi Arabia. Power lost is not easily regained. Sweden, Mongolia, and Portugal were once great powers on the world stage. If the United States unilaterally gives up its leadership role, how many decades will it take to get it back? If not us, who? David Koehl is a former member and chairman of the Seneca County Board of Elections, and was chairman of the Seneca County Republican Party. He can be reached at paperandink44883@yahoo.com.