It was one heck of a year
by George Porter

This column last week on the future of the American Navy referenced a new book by Jim Rasenberger, "America, 1908." In the prologue of the book he calls 1908 one hell of a year of change, and writes "for all that was wrong with America in 1908, the most impressive trait shared by its people was the hope that carried them forward. They fiercely believed, not always with good reason, that the future would be better than the present. It's striking, in fact, how much more hopeful Americans were then than we are today." Even though we live in a nation that is stronger, safer, richer, and healthier, a recent Pew poll found that barely one-third of us feel optimistic about the future. When asked if children growing up in the country today would be better off or worse off in days to come, two-thirds predicted they would be worse off. The win by Mike Huckabee and Barrack Obama in Iowa and the low approval ratings of both political parties, Congress and the President indicate 2008 may be an equally pivotal year in American history. Rasenberger's excellent book sites events before and after 1908, and constantly references links to America today. 1908 was the year Henry Ford introduced the Model T, Wilbur and Orville Wright continued to make aviation history, and baseball dominated sports - all are well covered in this book that includes leading newspaper headlines of the day. In 1908 over sixty five percent of eligible voters in the country cast ballots. In politics, 1908 was a year dominated by President Teddy Roosevelt and the sailing of the Great White Fleet. Roosevelt decided not to run for a third term, and William Jennings Bryan, Howard Taft and socialist Eugene Debs ran for president to follow Roosevelt. Oklahoma governor Charles Haskell was also the campaign treasurer for Bryan, and was implicated by the media of improperly accepting campaign contributions from Standard Oil. Sound familiar? There is one over-riding idea present in American politics today that was not prevalent in 1908 -- the concept of world governance and the role of global organizations such as the United Nations. A new book by Strobe Talbott, "The Great Experiment" expresses one point of view. The book is reviewed in the January 5th issue of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by Karen Elliott House, a senior fellow of Harvard's Belfer Center, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former publisher of the WSJ. Strobe Talbott is currently head of the Brookings Institution, a public policy think-tank, and previously served as deputy secretary of state under President Bill Clinton (1994-2001) and before that was a writer and editor for Time Magazine for 21 years. His book is an attempt to write the history of world civilizations from Noah's tribal descendants who settled North Africa and Mesopotamia to the modern nation-states that comprise the U.N. today. The book is not the work of a historian, but rather a sales pitch for one who advocates world governance and the supremacy of U.N. mandates. It is meant to encourage left-leaning activists in this year's elections. Excerpts - "within a hundred years nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single global authority." The greatest threats facing the world today, according to Talbott, are nuclear proliferation and global warming. Of these, he says, global warming is the more dire threat. "If we take the steps to fend off specific, imminent existential threats, we will be giving ourselves time and useful experience for lifting global governance to a higher level." Talbott urges re-validating the Clinton era treaty creating the International Criminal Court, which would allow foreigners to sit in judgment of American soldiers. Of the invasion of Iraq, he writes it is "the most ill-conceived, poorly executed, and disastrous exercise of American power in the history of the Republic." Ms. House concludes her review with the comment that it appears that if Talbott had to choose between a world with the U.S. and no U.N. or one with a U.N. and no U.S., he would choose the latter. Fortunately, plenty of Americans feel precisely the opposite. In checking web sites, I find that Strobe Talbott is an advisory member of Hillary Clinton's campaign team. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and a group dissatisfied with the rancor in Washington met last week in Norman. Potential for a third party run for the presidency is substantial. Which way America votes this November will have a significant impact on world history. Historians may record that 2008, like 1908, was "one heck of a year." Let's hope over sixty five percent of eligible voters care enough to cast ballots. America's best years can be our future.

George Porter is a retired insurance company executive and a Duncan Banner columnist. He may be reached at geormrty@wmconnect.com
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