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Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the UN, observed that "the Presidency of the United States is the most extraordinary job ever devised"—with the one assuming this position "tested by pressures unimaginable to anyone who has not held the job" ("The Next President," Foreign Affairs, Sept.-Oct. 2008).
Although the new president will lead the world's most powerful single country, without question a superpower, he "will inherit a more difficult set of international problems than any of his predecessors have since at least the end of World War II . . . He will have to reshape policies on the widest imaginable range of challenges, domestic and international . . .
"He must revitalize a flagging economy; tame a budget awash in red ink; reduce energy dependence . . . tackle the growing problem of nuclear proliferation; improve the defenses of the homeland against global terrorists while putting more pressure on al Qaeda, especially in Pakistan; and, of course, manage two wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan] simultaneously" (ibid., emphasis added throughout).
That's a tall order! Insightful observers now discuss "the real new world order" ushered in by recent events in the country of Georgia and by madness in the financial markets on Wall Street and elsewhere. The state of the economy is probably the main challenge the next occupant of the Oval Office will face.
Veteran British journalist Simon Jenkins asked these penetrating questions in The Sunday Times: "You don't understand it either, do you? How could a clutch of dud mortgages somewhere in the American Midwest bring the mightiest financial centres on earth close to collapse? How could the esoteric practices of risk exchange [e.g., packaging, selling and reselling questionable mortgages] sabotage what was just six months ago, two smoothly performing capitalist economies? . . . Economics is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma" (Sept. 21, 2008).
Dan Atkinson, economics editor of The Mail on Sunday, explained that "the [financial] convulsions that began in August 2007 and have shaken us more violently since have been concentrated in the so-called Anglo-Saxon economies—chiefly Britain and the United States " (Sept. 21, 2008).
He further pointed out that "Britain, America and, to a lesser extent, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and others have become addicted to debt. This addiction has been fed by a financial services industry bloated to many times its natural size, and itself, in need of huge amounts of borrowed money.
"[London] and Wall Street, having asset-stripped domestic industry, set about lending consumers the money to buy imported goods that we no longer make. In a final twist, the money is often borrowed from the same countries, such as China , that are selling us the goods . . . In return for their goods, China and other developing economies have taken vast amounts of [British pound] sterling and dollar-dominated paper—shares whose value they naturally wish to see preserved."
So far, the United States government has executed several major bailouts of very large, very prominent financial institutions whose projected demise threatened a major recession and possibly even a 1930s-style meltdown and depression. When the dust settles, it likely will constitute the biggest government takeover of private enterprise in American history. The scale and swiftness of government intervention is unprecedented since the 1930s.
These massive economic bailouts should provide some much-needed breathing space and hopefully restore confidence in the financial system. Yet they likely will not prevent a recession entailing perhaps many more job losses, further falls in house prices and a general economic slowdown in America and other Western countries.
Why are our Anglo-Saxon nations in such a quandary on so many fronts? Why does the leader of the United States face so many daunting challenges? One particular booklet explains important though little-understood biblical and historical background and tells us where the country is inevitably headed if it fails to institute major moral course corrections. Request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times [both London], Foreign Affairs.)
Some in the United States are suffering from acute anxiety attacks and other forms of worry because of the recent financial setbacks. As USA Today reported: "As a nation, we are emotionally struggling to digest each day's dour economic news. Home foreclosures are at record highs. The stock market is gyrating. Retirement and college savings plans that families have spent decades building are crumbling" (Sept. 25, 2008).
This financial crisis has hurt citizens across the country, affecting executives, employers, employees, parents and children. Marriages are under greater stress as husbands and wives argue over how to best cope with the difficulties. Financial planners, executive consultants, employee counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists are overwhelmed with telephone calls asking what to do and how to react. One can quickly overreact, making unwise decisions based solely on emotion, or suffer from action paralysis and do absolutely nothing. Extremes are usually poor options.
One lady simply said: "I just put it in God's hands. I go to bed praying each night that things will someday get better" (ibid.). That's a very good start! Also, in an era in which one may purchase any of countless self-help books we strongly recommend that readers consult the best such book ever published. The Bible gives all kinds of important tips and principles about how to cope with adversity. (Source: USA Today.)
Why don't human governments last? They always run their course and leaders are replaced by other human beings.
To understand governments, you must understand the God who allows them. God places human beings in office as He sees fit. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar grew arrogant and it cost him his kingdom for seven years. God let him lose his mind until he learned who had placed him in office (Daniel 4:30-37).
Jesus Christ warned against the typical style of governance among the nations in His day. Rulers assumed they were entitled to their positions, and they loved to dominate and control others (Matthew 20:25).
When King Solomon was made ruler over Israel, he asked God to help him rule with godly wisdom. God was pleased with his attitude and blessed him beyond his wildest dreams (2 Chronicles 1).
At His return, Jesus will replace all human governments (Daniel 2:44; Revelation 11:15). Simply put, human beings are deficient. Without God's Spirit, human beings are incapable of governing well. Human nature is incurable (Jeremiah 17:9). This is why human governments cannot last and why Christ will come to reign over mankind in perfect righteousness, mercy and humility (Isaiah 11:1-5; Micah 6:8).
The Chinese would well understand the following summary statement in a report by Stratfor Today (Aug. 5, 2008). It said: "The geographic position of the United States, situated comfortably between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, is a critical dynamic in its fundamental security, and U.S. naval dominance in the world's oceans is a key dynamic of the international system."
A recent feature article in the September 2008 issue of Le Monde diplomatique stated: "Five hundred years ago the obvious contender for dominance of the world's oceans was the Chinese imperial exploration fleet, which was technologically centuries ahead of all its rivals. But the emperor decided to turn the nation's back on the sea. The Chinese will not make the same mistake twice."
China is now the world's second-largest oil importer. It seeks to protect its energy corridors by sea. It seeks free access to vast areas of Southeast Asian sea lanes far beyond the Indochinese peninsula. In short the Chinese want "a second chance at command of the oceans" (ibid.).
The U.S. Seventh Fleet is worried by Chinese naval challenges. According to Le Monde diplomatique, "The Chinese fleet is reported to have five fast-attack nuclear powered submarines (SSNs) and one ballistic submarine (SLBN) reputed to carry between 12 and 16 nuclear missiles with a range of 3,500 km. It has 30 diesel-electric submarines and more than 20 other submersibles are under construction."
The Seventh Fleet fears that the Chinese submarine fleet will be in a position to challenge or even exceed the number of U.S. ships in the Pacific Ocean as early as the year 2020. While it is currently far from matching or surpassing U.S. naval power, China has a much longer history and the historic patience to pursue a long-term strategy with the view to eventually surpassing American dominance of the sea. (Sources: Stratfor Today, Le Monde diplomatique.)
What may help America in countering Chinese ambitions, at least temporarily, is the current diplomatic conflict between China and India. David Blair, covering Chinese affairs for London's Daily Telegraph, recently wrote, "India, revitalized and self-confident, sees itself as a barrier to the vaulting ambition of its age-old rival [China]" (The Sunday Telegraph, Sept. 14, 2008).
Advantageous for New Delhi is that " India sits like an ancient aircraft carrier across Chinese shipping lanes." According to The Telegraph, "The two giant powers are long-standing rivals who share a disputed 2,100-mile border and are waging a diplomatic struggle for influence in Asia . They fought a border war in 1962, which ended in victory for China and left Beijing in control of 16,500 square miles of territory claimed by India" (Sept. 16, 2008).
China has a potential Achilles' heel in the Strait of Malacca, the shipping lanes that may be the site for a future military conflict between India and the Chinese republic. In contrast, India worries that Chinese courting of Pakistan and Myanmar will lead to the encirclement of the subcontinent nation. The United States is cooperating with and supporting India, as the two countries have obvious mutual interests in countering and containing Chinese ambitions.
David Blair concluded in another of his Telegraph articles that "China and India, which together comprise almost 40% of the world's population, harbour a longstanding rivalry which could shake the world in future decades" (Sept. 16, 2008). (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph [London], Telegraph.co.uk.)
Far too many Americans have chosen a path of make-it-up-as-you-go morality or even amorality. Amorality admits no moral distinctions or judgments and lacks moral sensibility, not caring about right and wrong.
A new study by the Barna Group ("Young Adults and Liberals Struggle With Morality," Aug. 25, 2008) shows that Americans have "redefined what it means to do the right thing in their own lives." Researchers asked adults which behaviors they had engaged in during a one-week period. Behaviors listed included pornography, profanity, gambling, gossiping, sex outside of marriage, retaliation, getting drunk and lying.
The study found that a majority of adults had engaged in one or more of these behaviors. Nearly three in 10 had used profanity in public; nearly one in five had gambled or intentionally viewed pornographic images. About one in 10 had gossiped, gotten drunk, lied, had extramarital sex or engaged in some form of retaliation.
It also found that "one of the most stunning outcomes . . . was the moral pattern among adults under 25. The younger generation was more than twice as likely as all other adults to engage in behaviors considered morally inappropriate by traditional standards."
For example, almost two in three in this group had used profanity publicly, almost two in five had lied or engaged in sex outside of marriage, a third had viewed pornography, and one in four had gotten drunk.
Not surprisingly, adults who described themselves as liberal on sociopolitical issues were twice as likely as those who described themselves as conservative to engage in these activities. Atheists and agnostics were about five times more likely to participate in these behaviors than those who identified themselves as evangelical Christians.
As Americans depend less and less on the Bible for their source of moral judgment, they become their own independent judges of what is right and wrong. George Barna believes that "it is not likely that America will return to a more traditional moral code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices."
America's founders relied on the Bible as their guide. Read their history and you will consistently find that God and the Bible were often mentioned in matters of state. But times have changed, affluence has turned our heads, and we follow in the footsteps of ancient Israel during the period of the judges: "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Forget God and God says He'll forget us (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). To better understand what this all means, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Source: The Barna Group.)
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Keywords: presidency U.S. economy stress China India morality amorality
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