Wherever my wife and I travel internationally, we see the ubiquitous presence of the United States. The American commercial culture is almost impossible to ignore. Restaurants serve Coke products. Blue jeans are worn by young and old alike. American pop music plays in hotel lobbies and airports. The local news stations are filled with American politics and athletic events. English is the most spoken language and used for international commerce. The American dollar is the primary currency for foreign transactions. The US has a dominant presence worldwide.
When my wife and I lived in Europe, we tried to blend in as best as possible and not be easily identified as American. However, the minute we spoke, people immediately identified us as Americans. The locals watch American movies and newscasts so they can easily differentiate our accents from other English-speaking nations. When traveling outside the US, we used the metric system for time, weight, and temperature. We were in Australia last spring and answered an international couple’s questions about the Texas weather in degrees celcius. They gave us a surprised look, then said, “We are a bit surprised that you used degree C as Americans don’t do that.” Respecting the local customs is not the norm as Americans seem to expect other countries to follow their customs.
When we were in Germany last December, we went shopping at a small Christmas market located in a central outdoor square. People, in a festive mood, thronged the streets. There were many international tourists. As we were standing near a small hut, an American walked up to the counter to purchase an item. He shouted several times, “Does anyone here speak English?” Germans, working in commerce, usually know enough English to assist English speakers. I thought, how many Germans would shout out in a US store, “Does anyone here speak German?”
When we lived in The Netherlands, most locals knew English so well that when we tried to speak Dutch, they quickly switched to English. Our Dutch was so bad that it must have hurt their ears.
We would occasionally drive to a small German town along the Moselle River and stay at a family Gasthaus. The owner’s wife knew enough English to reserve us a zimmer [room]. We showed up around 10pm one Friday night after earlier informing her of our late arrival. Strangely, the Gasthaus was dark and the entry door locked. I knocked and an upper floor room light turned on. The grandmother opened the window and said, “Spät! [late]” I replied, “Ja, spät. Ich habe eine reservierung. [Yes, late. I have a reservation]” She shut the window and turned off the light. So much for my German pronunciation!
At the time that Niebuhr was writing his book, the US had come out of isolation to fight World War II. Millions of Americans were thrust into Europe and Asia, countries they knew only from geography class. Today, Americans are the major participants in a world community.
In Chapter 5, titled The World Community, of Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr’s 1944 publication, The Children of Light and The Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of its Traditional Defense (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 2011), Niebuhr stated, “For the first time in human history the communal order, which rests upon, and is limited by, forces of national particularity, stands under a double challenge. The old force of universality which challenges nationalistic particularism is the sense of universal moral obligation, transcending the geographic and other limits of historic communities. The new force of universality is the global interdependence of nations, achieved by a technical civilization.” (page 154)
Up until WWII, “the older form of moral universalism is the fruit of high religions and philosophies which supplanted tribal and imperial religions some two or three thousand years ago.” (page 154) Before I was born, the world was living in a western (Greek/Roman) dominated world community. Technological developments changed the world and since Niebuhr’s book, the world has experienced an accelerating global economy. “The children of light regard it [technology] as a practically inevitable achievement. As always, they underestimate the power of particular forces in history. … Two world wars in one generation prove that the logic of history has less power over the recalcitrance of human wills than the children of light assume.” (page 159–60)
The Nazis were able to almost totally consume Europe because each country fell individually rather than join their militaries into a unified defensive power. Only the English Channel and a willful British nation kept the UK from defeat. “The great civilized nations are sufficiently children of light to refrain from efforts at the tyrannical unification of the world. But each of the great powers has sufficient strength to be tempted by the hope that it may establish its own security without too much concern for the security of others and without binding commitments to the common interests of all nations.” (page 161) Niebuhr wrote his book before the United Nations (UN) and NATO were created. Sadly, the UN has proven ineffective at stopping conflicts and NATO is under threat from the current US government.
Since WWI, there have been many creative ideas generated, working towards a world order. “The children of light in our era might be divided into two schools, one more naïve and the other a little more sophisticated. The more naïve school of universalists believes that it would be sufficient to embody a moral imperative into a universally accepted law. … Far more numerous is a school of more sophisticated idealists who recognize that power is required in the organization of all human communities.” (pages 163-4) Since the end of WWII, the United States has played the role of international police. While other countries have power, only the US can project massive worldwide power.
Yet, the US has a long history of isolationism. It entered two world wars only reluctantly or when attacked. “It has become necessary for the children of light to borrow some of the wisdom of the children of darkness; and yet be careful not to borrow too much.” (page 176) Niebuhr does not support dividing the world into spheres of influence, something to which both China and Russia aspire. It “would only mitigate mutual suspicion and only slightly delay ultimate conflict.” (page 180) Too much unified power tempts tyranny. Too little power creates anarchy. Checks and balances are required to manage the world’s 200+ nations.
At the end of his book, Niebuhr turns to his Christian faith as the final solution. “The understanding of the Christian faith that the highest achievements of human life are infected with sinful corruption will help men to be prepared for new corruptions on the level of world community which drive simpler idealists to despair. … Without it we are driven to alternate moods of sentimentality and despair; trusting human powers too much in one moment and losing all faith in the meaning of life when we discover the limits of human possibilities.” (page 189)
