If America wants to prosper, we must lead

Last week at the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump issued a “challenge for every nation in this room” to “go forward strong and united against the enemies of all humanity” and, by doing so, “make this world a far better and safer place.” While it is tempting to write Trump’s words off as rhetorical fanfare, the mission they describe is real, critical and — unfortunately — now being dismissed by many in the U.S.

Lately, a foolish worldview is growing in popularity among elected leaders in Washington. You hear it from voices ranging from Tucker Carlson to Hasan Piker. Some on the left and right have become convinced that solving America’s domestic issues requires our retreat from leadership on the world stage.

Their narrative requires us to ignore history and believe that America is in irreversible decline and has shriveled in form from her former greatness. But America’s best days are ahead, and we can and must stay energetically engaged in foreign policy to protect Americans and our way of life. And so, we must be clear about what a U.S. retreat would mean and how American life would look if we allowed Communist China to write the rules and our enemies to establish a New World Order.

These views, often sold as populist ideas, are nothing new. Nearly a century ago, America faced similar choices as evil around the world began to threaten our security.

In the fall of 1939, the devastation caused by the Great Depression hung like a dark cloud over the lives of many Americans while Nazi Germany invaded Poland. While the news out of Europe was troubling, there were plenty of “leaders” in Washington telling hardworking families that America couldn’t possibly be worried about the security of Europe when our own citizens couldn’t guarantee the security of their own jobs.

These are the same arguments being sold today as young Americans worry about grocery bills, the cost of........

© The Hill