Aging Early

I read Thomas Jefferson’s wisdom: “Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction.”  I, as almost all researchers who studied the history and the political system of the United States, respect and admire Thomas Jefferson as a U.S. founder, the person who drafted the most important document in U.S. history - the Declaration of Independence, the third president and as a wise leader whose words always came true.  But despite all my respect for the man and my appreciation for his work and words.  I didn’t take his fears seriously.  I considered those fears a precaution from a wise leader meant to encourage and push the Americans to preserve their system and appreciate the freedoms and the rights they have been enjoying through being careful and avoiding all possible threats against the perfect republic he and his colleagues founded.

The developments that took place during my 25-year service at the American Embassy affirmed the soundness of my conviction.  When I joined the embassy the United States was just coming out of a costly war in Vietnam.  It is important to understand that the war was put off by the people of the United States, who forced their government to end their brutality and the unjust fight.  The American government and through three key presidents, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy, ran that unjust war in Asia and refused to stop it, despite the high costs paid by the American people.  But when the American people realized that their rights, values, morals and ethics were violated, their wealth had been wasted and doctrines of their founders were not honored by their governments and rulers.  They stood firm against the war and forced their government to end its costly and “unacceptable” war in Vietnam. 

Soon after that came the Watergate scandal which forced President Nixon to resign, again because the American public considered him a man who violated some of their important rights.  The American people considered President Nixon confiscated their rights and violated the principles and the values which the United States was founded on and for.  Therefore, they worked hard to indict him and force him to resign because they saw him as unfit to lead their great democracy.

Those developments and many similar incidents in which American people stood firm fighting for protecting their principles and values, proved that the United States as a country and as a civilization will remain strong and will last a long time, perhaps forever.  In addition, the generosity of the American people and their willingness to provide aid and support and to share values and achievements with other nations strengthened my conviction that the American democratic and free empire was unbreakable and was immune against all kinds of breaches.

During those 25 years of service I lived through many attempts, from inside and outside the United States, to harm and change the values and the principles which the United States was founded on.  But all those attempts failed because they were deeply rooted in the culture and the practice of all Americans.  The motto of all Americans was “no one above the law” and the interests of the United States always come first.