As I watched the president of the United States take the word of a former KGB agent over comprehensive American intelligence, I couldn’t believe my ears. Sadly, it is the direct result of fear driving our politics. Many of my conservative brethren are so afraid of immigrants and threats abroad that they’re applauding efforts to shut our doors, batten down the hatches, and scrap America’s leadership role in the world. We must reject these weak-minded tendencies and make America lead again.

To be sure, the world isn’t all roses and gumdrops these days. Radical religious zealots in the Middle East want to destroy us. The Russians are successfully tinkering with our politics. The Chinese rival us as another global superpower. Authoritarian regimes in places like North Korea and Venezuela operate with impunity.

The presence of America’s republic as a beacon of self-governance and liberty has never been more important.

[Read the full op-ed here].

 

Image credit: Mike Trukhachev

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