Many things are wearing out Americans these days, from security anxieties to real-world conflicts.
German and Dutch authorities just foiled a major attack planned against Jews by Hamas — during a holiday season where many people may be traveling to Europe. News that a 13-year-old allegedly plotted to blow up a synagogue in Ohio is beyond disturbing. The fatigue is real; it is not surprising that the Biden administration reportedly is pressing Israel to wrap up its war in Gaza.
The good news is that Congress passed the Defense Authorization Act and sent it to President Biden’s desk. At least we are prepared for war.
War is exhausting — for troops, civilians and observers. Fighting takes more energy, resources and lives than peace, but that has not stopped conflict from breaking out all over the world even as we deal with internal conflicts at home.
More than 238,000 people died in global conflict last year, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s annual Global Peace Index. And here we are at the end of 2023, with two wars at the center of our national debate — Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza war — complicated by the immigration crisis at our southern border and made more difficult by political dysfunction in Congress and discord among citizens.
That is a lot of turmoil for one country.
Most Americans may not follow news from Yemen, but they hear that Houthi rebels are attacking Western ships in the Mediterranean. That is frightening, knowing our troops are in harm’s way at sea. And American forces are on heightened alert at our embassy in Iraq, as “ripple effects” from the conflict in the Middle East spread.
War is tiring, and made more exhausting by political fights about war.
On aid to Israel, the country is divided, with protests tearing apart college campuses and raising security concerns across the country.
“Half of Americans approve of Israel’s military action in the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, and 45% disapprove, according to a Gallup poll conducted several weeks after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel that led to a major military operation by Israel.”
Last week, college presidents testified before Congress about free speech and hate speech on campuses. One of those who testified, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, has now resigned; the other two have so far survived the onslaught.
On aid to Ukraine, we are divided as well, with a fight over funding to secure the U.S. border with Mexico layered on to the debate.
Americans are also tired from worrying about security at home.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned about growing intelligence warnings of violence in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war. And gun violence is testing our patience as well, with more than 40,000 people killed this year. The White House is trying to push states to tackle the problem, after failing to do so at the federal level.
Gas prices are currently low, but American fears over prices remain high. Despite assurances that the economy is improving, people worry that life in this country has become too expensive.
Politics has become a tiresome sport in America.
We are in the middle of a Republican fight over the candidate to run against President Biden in next year’s election, while frontrunner Donald Trump and his legal woes dominate the news cycle. Congress is now focused on Hunter Biden and the impeachment of President Biden, which for most Americans is more family news than they need in a given day.
The bottom line is that Americans need more than just a holiday break. We need to reinvigorate our sense of pride in our global leadership.
Leadership is about making informed choices and solving multiple concurrent problems, and then explaining to citizens at home and abroad how we are going to engage with the world in ways that protect our people at home and reflect our values overseas.
As a nation, we must pull ourselves together, realizing that every nation is watching our every move.
I agree with CNN analyst Fareed Zakaria, who wrote in Foreign Affairs last week that “for all its internal difficulties, the United States above all others remains uniquely capable and positioned to play the central role in sustaining this international system. As long as America does not lose faith in its own project, the current international order can thrive for decades to come.”
Tara Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.