If you are like me, you value the wisdom of people who have lived long and have had important experience in world affairs. That explains my pleasure whenever I see Zbigniew Brzezinski, now 83, interviewed on television.
His name may be difficult to spell and pronounce, but he ranks as among the most articulate public analysts of the current world scene. I caught him recently on the PBS News Hour and watched his interview again on my computer.
A native of Poland, Brzezinski grew up in a country that bordered Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. His father was a diplomat who in the 1930s was posted first to Germany, then to the Soviet Union.
Echoes of the era’s terrible history must have reached the small boy. A fortunate posting to Canada in 1938 brought his family to a safe zone, but World War II and its aftermath undoubtedly shaped his thinking.
The 1950s brought Brzezinski to the Boston area, for doctoral studies in government, and subsequent teaching appointments at Harvard. Later, he was chiefly based in New York and Washington.
During the years 1977-1981, he took time out from his professorship at Columbia to serve as Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor, playing a vital role in relations with the Soviet Union and eastern Europe.
Now in his eighties, Brzezinski shows himself articulate and dignified as he evaluates our international situation.
His new book, Strategic Vision, gives a detailed picture of his current world view. But the PBS interview covers much ground in a short time.
One conviction of Brzezinski made a special impact on me, and made me wish to draw readers’ attention to it.
Brzezinski characterizes the American public’s understanding of world affairs as “abysmal.” We are probably the least informed country in the world, he says.
And one of the main reasons why this hurts us is this: “We can only conduct a foreign policy that the public supports.”
It saddens me to find Brzezinski’s charge quite correct. We all know people who know little or nothing beyond our borders. Nor do these same citizens much care.
Pop culture has created an alternate reality in our country. Widespread rejection of newspapers, especially among young people, condemns many among us to ignorance, despite the information riches of the Internet.
Though our country still plays a major role in the world, the time is coming, Brzezinski says, when that will change. Already, we “can no longer dictate to the world, or be the determining player of everything that is important on the global scene.”
The role of the West is changing, and political awareness is increasing rapidly all over the globe. “For the first time in history,” says Brzezinski, “the publics of the world have become politically awake.” There is now a worldwide surge for personal dignity
A shift has taken place in the West whereby we will no longer have the same dominance over other nations. “For the first time in history,” says Brzezinski, “the publics of the world have become politically awake.”
Arms will not solve our problems. We have to learn, he says, “that the use of military power sets in motion unpredictable consequences and is very, very expensive.”
Two nations can act to revitalize the West, Brzezinski believes. Russia (after Putin goes) and Turkey will expand the West and make it more dynamic.
About China, he shows himself optimistic. Because of the new economic reality of global interdependence, China and the U.S. have compelling reason to turn away from armed conflict.
Like Brzezinski himself, I cannot count on being around to see the changes that he envisions but that does not prevent me from sharing his hopes for a better future.