Childhood's End

Our western Holy Book (the Bible) says:
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways.

First Corinthians

America’s childhood is ending with a vengeance. The housing bubble has burst, credit card companies are reducing amounts of credit and increasing fees to the maximum permitted, the domestic car manufacturing companies are going bankrupt. America and The United Kingdom say they want Iran to stop developing nuclear capabilities. And over and over we hear the question “How did this happen?”

Simply put when the Second World War ended America and Great Brittan (as it was known then) and Russia (or the USSR as it was known then) went on a binge. We went on a 3 day drunk that lasted for America some 60 years and for the other victors of World War 2 a somewhat lesser period of time.

It might be said America has awoken to find herself sprawled in the gutter. Do we feel bad? Do we feel remorse? To we feel cheap? Yes we do. All drunks feel those things when they finally wake up from a binge. What America did in the past 60 years is not going to be put right by feeling bad. It is not going to be put right by feeling guilty. The only way it is going to be put right is through hard work and sacrifice.

America needs first to stop thinking of themselves as the god given leader of the world. America needs to realize she is a member of the community of nations and while strong she is not infallible. America did make a major contribution to defeating Germany and Japan in their attempt to dominate the world. That was then this is some 63 years later. The world rightly tells America to "Get over themselves." Of course that is just another way of certain nations saying “What have you done for me lately?” The simple truth is if America is going to give up childish ways then she can rightly ask that others join us in that exercise.

America can solve the energy problem if the rest of the world will follow her lead and use less and pollute less. America can attempt free trade if other nations will allow American goods to freely enter their borders. America can sit on the sidelines if nations will agree to not bomb and maim one another in civil wars and decimation between religious groups and indigenous tribes.

So as a the first year of the last year of the first decade of the new millennium dawns let the world note that each year is a new beginning and an ending of something. Let us end those things that hurt great numbers of humans and let us do those things that benefit the greatest number of human beings. For only then will we have truly put away childish things.