Written by George Kennedy   

In my last blog post “The American Century – What Should It Mean To Be No.1?”, I suggested there were myriad ways we could give content to an American Century. Someone asked me if I could elaborate on this point. I should point out again that the idea of an American Century originated with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a recent foreign policy speech.

Personally, I like the idea of an American Century, so here goes. My journey thus far has taken me through almost two dozen countries, from the palaces of heads of state to the modest homes of peasants who shared their living space with their farm winters during cold winter months. In each instance, I was honored to be their guest. Moreover, the one common thread in each experience was the positive impression many of my hosts had of America; from wanting to be an American someday, to fulfilling the dream of a visit to see the White House; to having generally favorable views of American society, its leadership, and Americans in general, even though they did not always approve of certain U.S. policies. Always, I was proud to represent my country. Here is why.

To most of those I encountered during a 34-year career in the Foreign Service, we were a country of unlimited potential for all – not just a few; a country whose very ideals inspired generations alive today across the the globe. Everything important to the lives of those I met happened here in the United States. We had it, they wanted it, they aspired to emulate us. Ultimately, they did. What greater flattery was there? What we have lost is the respect we once earned.

The idea of an American Century begins at home. We could give meaning to it by living up to our best ideals, not the narrow, regressive ideas of a few, by once again becoming a champion of life leader by rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, strengthening our social safety net, and providing national healthcare – for starters. We could give meaning to an American Century by championing ideals that lift the human spirit everywhere: freedom, the equal rights of men and women, a respect for an environment that sustains life for all that inhabit planet hearth; accepting that everyone deserves the best quality of life, and the necessity for a government that ensures social justice.

We could give meaning to an American Century if we once again were the fount for great and progressive ideas; a society that values science and its contributions to the advancement of civilization, and not just worship the obscene bonuses Wall Street generates by risking the sanity of the American economy. We give content by eliminating the current plague of economic injustice here at home while growing the most prosperous country in the history of the world. The two concepts are not mutually exclusive. We could represent a society that values balance in all things because the absence of it gives rise to revolt – as history continues to instruct us.

We give meaning to an American Century by elevating soft diplomacy, not the unleashing of military power to cow those who would oppose us. There is little public enthusiasm today for more military intervention to achieve national security goals. It was the decades-long practice of soft diplomacy that helped to elevate America's standing among a tide of newly independent nations in the 1950s and 1960s.

Government-sponsored programs exposed an emerging generation of European, Asian, and Third World leadership to the richness and diversity of the American experience in the aftermath of WWII as an alternative to the repressive policies of a recent colonial past and authoritarian regimes of the 1930s and the 1940s. I can recall a time during my career when every head of state and government in the civilized world for 40 years was an alumnus of this prestigious club.

We offered a better formula to create a more democratic and prosperous future with higher rates of education and quality of life. Give meaning to an American Century by reprising those programs. Expose hundreds of thousands of new and young leaders to the American experience, not the town square to harness the frustration an increasingly youthful planet experiences.

Finally, we could give content to an American Century by electing to public office men and women of vision, capable of big ideas to solve big problems; leaders who would inspire others to join them in a crusade to heal the divisions in this country; to cease demonizing the poor, blaming them for the corruption by the rich, and to restore respect to our public sector employees. What is needed are leaders who create opportunities that uplift and strengthen this country rather than foster powerlessness and despair. We could elect leaders that are not purchased by the oligopolistic interests who currently fear and, thus, thwart change, and who would hold the country and the world captive to practices that enslave, not enrich.

Progressive American leadership would encourage friends and allies to align with us in international forums to heal deepening fissures among countries and, hopefully, dissuade potential adversaries from forms of adventurism that threaten peace and stability. Our success in making the 21st century an American Century lies in whom we elect to positions of national leadership over the next decade. It is up to us; we make our leaders. The alternative is we preside over our escalating diminution as one of the world's most successful societies.