Can America be MGA*?

 

*Made Great Again

There are two, only two, dynamics at work here: the truth and its opposite, pragmatism, or whatever works.

We need to raise our sights, to stop being obsessed with what is happening right now, and to see the future of mankind: peace, prosperity, and love on a world-wide scale because we have been influenced by His Spirit to treat our neighbor as we would wish to be treated BY our neighbor.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. There is no other way.

-          Roger

I have been thinking about this comment from Roger to my post, Quo Vadis MAGA? In that post, I discussed what is happening geopolitically through the lens of the Heartland Theory posited by Halford Mackinder about 120 years ago, and I used that lens to consider which way America is going under Trump and just what does he mean by “Make America Great Again.”  (Go back to the post to see what might be meant by this phrase that can mean almost anything.)

I used the post to take a step back, considering the confusion that is the Trump presidency.  And, by stepping back maybe getting some clarity – or at least reminding myself of the geopolitical lens through which I see world events playing out.

Roger’s comment has me thinking that I need to take a further step back – call it the ultimate step back – and ask: Can America be Made Great Again?  And to answer this question – to offer the ultimate and unassailable answer, there is only one source to use.

Jeremiah 18: 11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’” 12 And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”

This sounds like America today.

17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity.”

God showing the back and not the face is one of the most damning statements He makes.

2 Kings 17: 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.

This also sounds like America today.

18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.

Being removed from God’s sight.  Also one of the most damning statements God makes.

2 Kings 24: 3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon.

Again, removed from His sight. 

Quo Vadis MAGA?

Which way are you going, MAGA? 

Trump is the most confusing president in my lifetime (just see my last post, and compare it to several of my earlier posts).  Some people see him playing 4-D chess or call it his negotiation strategy, others just see it for chaos.  He regularly says things the opposite of each other and regularly does things at least seemingly the opposite of each other or opposite of something he just said three minutes before.  I won’t rehash these here, I think the evidence is clear enough.

I have been thinking through how I might best understand what is going on.  At times like this, I think it is best to go back to some fundamentals; call these the lenses through which I see the political world.

There are two fundamental lenses through which I see the geopolitical landscape.  Now, I often forget these, and when this happens, I find myself swaying because of allowing myself to be unrooted.  Having said this, I am not completely married to these two lenses – these may not play at all.  However, until I see actions clearly in contradiction to the lenses…well, the lenses stand for me.

So, what are these lenses?

The Geographical Pivot of History

Also known as the Heartland Theory.  Halford Mackinder gave a talk in 1904 to the Royal Geographic Society in London.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so let’s start with a picture.

 

 

To summarize his thesis: whoever controls the Pivot Area controls the world.  Britain at that time, and the United States certainly since World War Two, have controlled the seas – the Lands of the Outer Crescent.  But this will be irrelevant to whoever brings under control and tames the Pivot Area.

I ask you, therefore, for a moment to look upon Europe and European history as subordinate to Asia and Asiatic history, for European civilization is, in a very real sense, the outcome of the secular struggle against Asiatic invasion.

For a thousand years, Europe dealt with hoards coming from Central Asia – the Pivot Area, or Heartland. 

To the east, south, and west of this heart-land are marginal regions, ranged in a vast crescent, accessible to shipmen. 

The margins, or Inner Crescent, are key.  A buffer for the Pivot Area and a source of chaos for the Outer Crescent to use against the Pivot Area.  And, guess what?

 

 

Mackinder identifies the key players of his time.  Little has changed:

Outside the pivot area, in a great inner crescent, are Germany, Austria, Turkey, India, and China, and in an outer crescent, Britain, South Africa, Australia, the United States, Canada, and Japan.

I would only comment that western China is certainly in the Pivot Area, making China a key Pivot Area player.  Otherwise, take a look at the list: the Outer Area was at the time all allies of Britain (with South Africa more recently becoming iffy).  Those in the Great Inner Crescent are seen as where the game is to be played.