ergo, On this forum I have referenced the US as the only "Super Power" on a couple of occasions, because the perils of having only one global super power is something I feel strongly about, for good reason.
We have a very dear friend, a Soviet Jew, who emigrated here from the Soviet Union about a decade ago. Needless to say, his experience in the USSR was not the best. He fought in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He and his family are truly amazing people. Because they have known real hardship, they have the most amazing insight on life and everything else. Europeans seem to have an understanding of global politics, and history that we will never have. They came here with almost nothing and truly have succeeded in every aspect of life, which is living testament to all of the opportunity and potential the US offers. I am fortunate to have the privilege of knowing these people. Etc...
Anyhow, in an August 2001 conversation, I referenced the end of the Cold War, as if it were a "good thing".... He asked me, "Do you think ending the Cold War was a "good thing"? I was a bit taken back by the question. As the typically complacent American, I never actually gave the issue much thought. I simply assumed it was a "good thing" because government and the media said it was "good", and I took them at their word.... Feeling a little naive, I conveyed my assumption to my friend.
He then offered his opinion that the world needed a balance of power. One Super Power does not provide balance. Two powers provide stability, and the fall of the Soviet Union was actually a destabilizing event. He said, the Soviet Union was the "enemy you know" and they didn't want war any more than Americans wanted war. The Soviets were able to keep all the "fringe factions" in check. He said, now the US has so many enemies and we don't know who they are. He said the USSR and a balance of power was able to keep all the radical factions and other "crazy people" in check, and the world was a safer, more stable place. He said another power would rise to Super Power status inevidably because a system seeks balance.
At the time I was truly amazed by the conversation, and insight. And I will never forget the conversation....
On that beautiful day of September 11th, 2001, after dropping my little one off at school, I turned on the TV to the horror of the Towers burning. The FIRST THING that popped into my head was that conversation with my Russian friend. I wondered then, and I still wonder, would that tragedy have happened without the fall of the USSR. Would those people have advanced their political agenda, and committed such violence in a system of 2 Super Powers? Would they even have been able to build their own militias in places like Afghanistan under the watchful eye of two global Super Powers? I'm inclined to think they would not have been able to do so, but we'll never know.....
And now I wonder whether another faction or entity will rise to Super Power status. I'm inclined to think he's right about that too..... He also tells me that I (Americans in general) believe I have a "right" to be safe and secure, to live in a nice house, to have all needs met, and a right to be happy, but Americans assume too much - because it is not this way in the rest of the world. And we, Americans, take too much for granted, and expect too much. Again, I think he's probably right. My life has been enriched by knowing these people.
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