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President Trump has said that deciding when to reopen the economy will be the biggest and most difficult one he will make in his presidency.
No one can deny the world is facing the most prolific challenge in our lifetimes. Since World War II, we as a nation have never faced decisions of global consequence like the ones we are facing today. Yes, there have been conflicts abroad, terrorists’ actions at home and even previous epidemics, but for nearly everyone alive today, we have never been asked as a country to make the really hard decisions this global pandemic now requires.
The decision Trump has to make is not as simple as the health care community or the governors of our states make it out to be. The decision is much more complex and the stakes are higher.
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In many respects, we are in the midst of a multi-front war. One is battling the virus, but others are perhaps even more dangerous; preserving the economy – and preserving our freedoms. And beyond the cliché that the cure could be worse than the disease, America’s retreat from the world economy will cause untold death and turmoil across the globe.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the difficult decision to fight on after the fall of France and not pursue, as some suggested, a negotiated settlement with Nazi Germany. He undoubtedly knew it would lead to incalculably more death and destruction. Yet, if preservation of life was the only consideration, perhaps capitulating to Nazi Germany would have been the easier decision.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt looked crisis in the eye and sent countless young, brave men to storm the beaches of Normandy to free a continent half a world away, and in doing so, preserved our freedoms as well.
Do we as a nation have the courage for tough decisions? Are we mindful of the fragility of our prosperity and our liberties? Would we as Americans be willing to pay that price or sacrifice that much if those decisions of the past fell into the court of public opinion today?
The book, “Lessons in Tragedy,” by Hal Brands and Charles Edel, gives us historical examples of how easily cultures have descended into violence and war. Further catastrophes were only averted by taking difficult, and understandably controversial, actions. The authors argue that America needs a “tragic sensibility” in order to address the dangers we face both domestically and internationally.
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There are far graver consequences which we as a nation will face long term if we don’t make those same tough decisions of history and embrace our own sense of tragic sensibility by changing course soon and reopening sectors of our economy in a safe and strategic way.
It was our industry, our economy and the arsenal of democracy that helped win World War II. In fact, the United States was the only nation to see its economy grow during the war. It was this same U.S. industry that allowed the execution of the post-war Marshall Plan and the formation of most of the global institutions that have led to the prosperity of the last 75 years.
That same economy will be what propels our recovery following this crisis, but it cannot do so if it remains in a self-induced coma. It’s time to wake America’s sleeping giant of economic growth – before it’s too late.
Another front of this war involves not only preserving life, but also preserving our very way of life. From every side, we are under attack by China and their execution of unrestricted warfare – a strategy that describes winning a global war against the United States without ever firing a shot.
Much has already been written about China’s role in the coronavirus and concerns about lack of transparency, with much still to uncover. However, one thing is irrefutable. China is taking advantage of the crisis, profiting from the outbreak, continuing their predatory mercantilism and accelerating the provision of goods and services to many suffering from the pandemic, such as sending 1,000 ventilators to New York City and attempting to re-sell to Italy some of the very products Italy donated to China.
China is also buying up distressed assets around the globe. The virus has become China’s economic weapon to destroy the economies of the U.S. and its allies. So far, it has worked, but it has to stop. Immediately.
Part of winning the fight on this front is pushing back on China with the full weight of the American economy, not just for ourselves, but for a world that also looks to our strength for their strength, security and stability. We need to win this war on many fronts: restarting the engine of industry and preserving the values and freedoms of our country, while also protecting ourselves against further exploitation by an ever-aggressive China. If we allow ourselves to make decisions based exclusively on limiting or eliminating potential American loss of life, we are fighting this war on only one front, which is a flawed and short-sighted strategy. We owe more to our nation, and to the world.
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President Trump’s instincts are correct, and many of the steps our president has taken have been bold, brave and infused with informed guidance and personal wisdom. We need to support the president in making the tough, correct decision to reopen our economy as soon as it is safe to do so. This is not an either/or decision between choosing life or livelihood. Those are two parts of a complex, achievable balance that will protect our liberties as Americans and recalibrate our relationship with China.
This is the perfect equilibrium our president must find, and we all must support, knowing there will continue to be risks, but being willing to assume those risks together.