What Makes America Great Reviews

Friends From Enemies

Friends from Enemies

The way that America relates to other nations is entirely unique in foreign relations history. But that is not surprising because America is unique in every possible way. Just as America devised a totally new way for the government to be accountable to it’s people, the way that government handles relationships with other countries reflects that unique blend of democratic and republican values in governing.

For one thing, America is completely unique because, with the exception of a small population of our vast citizenship, most of those who call themselves Americans came here as immigrants. So the very make up of America is composed of a melting pot of every possible country in the world. So, in a way, there is no such thing as a totally foreign country to America because it is almost certain that someone in our citizenry calls that country “the old country”. So America is really part of every other country and every country in the world is a part of America.

America at the same time sees itself differently in relation to the rest of the world than most countries do. At times America has such a strong ethic of charity and desire to help others that we send out armies of teams to pitch in and raise the standard of living of millions of people around the world. That not only builds a bond of trust and affection between nations, it opens up communications that are useful when relationships between countries get difficult.

America also sees itself as a protector of many nations. Part of this comes from our many wars and our common practice of winning wars against our enemies in a decisive fashion. What happens after America is victorious in a war is truly a strong reflection on the noble nature of the American spirit. Most countries, over the history of warfare handle victory over an enemy somewhat brutally. It is not uncommon to loot the enemy, destroy his cities and devastate the enemy so they can never bring war against you ever again.

This is not how America responds to victory. Without fail, Americans want to put the conflict behind them and reach out in friendship to their former enemies. The same energy that we once used to destroy and attack the ones we were in conflict with is quickly turned for good. And as we help our defeated foes recover from the ravages of war, we create friends and allies from our former enemies.

This principle was dramatically on display in how we handled the end of World War II. Japan and German were in ruins. Then America, the very nation that brought them defeat in that mighty battle, began to help with the rebuilding of those important nations. Soon the defeated countries of the world that came out of World War II humiliated and downtrodden were now proud allies of the greatest power in the world. And to this day Germany and Japan are two of America’s closest friends in the complex area of world diplomacy as well as in the form of economic cooperation.

This spirit of cooperation and quickly putting conflicts behind is grounded in the American spirit that is reflected here at home as well. It is part of the personality of Americans to take relationships of conflict and change them into allies as soon as possible. We respect our enemies and their ability to come against us. And as we move from conflict to peace, we can see the strong abilities of our enemies that they poured into warfare. When those talents are converted into peaceful pursuits, that enemy becomes a valued ally for a long time to come.

This principle is so beautifully illustrated in our friendship with Japan. This worthy foe was truly a difficult enemy to overcome. Their ability to pull off the ambush on Pearl Harbor is both despicable and a study in a beautifully executed military operation. Now with Japan in our " friends " camp, that brilliance that was turned to hurting us is a being used to work toward shared innovations in technology and other creative work that benefits both countries and mankind in general. So we see in this classic example of the “friends from Enemies” policy that America’s talent for making peace just as skillfully as we make war makes us a valuable member of the world community and a valuable ally for all who wish to call us friend.

About The Author:

Peter Dobler is a veteran in the IT business. His passion for experimenting with new internet marketing strategies leads him to explore new niche markets.
Read more about his experience with living in America; visit http://what-makes-america-great.tip4u2.com