Saturday, December 6, 2025

HCR on the NSS

In the most recent installment of Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson writes about the current administration’s National Security Strategy:

After a brief introduction touting what it claims are the administration’s great successes, the document begins by announcing the U.S. will back away from the global engagements that underpin the rules-based international order that the World War II Allies put in place after that war to prevent another world war. The authors of the document claim that the system of institutions like the United Nations, alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and free trade between nations that established a series of rules for foreign engagement and a web of shared interests around the globe has been bad for the U.S. because it undermined “the character of our nation.”

Their vision of “our country’s inherent greatness and decency,” requires “the restoration and reinvigoration of American spiritual and cultural health,” “an America that cherishes its past glories and its heroes, and that looks forward to a new golden age,” and “growing numbers of strong, traditional families that raise healthy children.”
As Richardson says, this document envisions the United States as a white supremacist country. No surprise that it was released on a Friday night, when it would be sure to receive less immediate attention. But Heather Cox Richardson was on it.

comments: 2

Anonymous said...

having lived and worked in DC, that is a common way to avoid the news cycles giving it attention. and it's even worse than that: https://afsa.org/new-report-finds-us-foreign-service-breaking-point-after-historic-loss-capacity.
by the way, one of our state universities is cutting their budget by 3% as well as lay-offs due to the legislature approving lower state budget for colleges and lower foreign enrollment and increasing demand of collegiate athletics. waiting to see what my university does.
kirsten

Michael Leddy said...

I was trying to be snarky with Friday. But obviously it didn't come through. I'll change it.

Bad news in education here: faculty firings and buy-outs, and a huge drop in the number of international students.