Quite a nice lady, in fact.
Fareed Zakaria, who shouldn't be published anywhere considering his
serial plagarism, is just one of quite a few writers pining for the days when Brittania ruled the waves. Naturally, the Washington Post was more than happy to publish
this lament:
Britain resigns as a world power
On Monday, the Right Honorable David Cameron, prime minister of Great Britain, gave his first major speech after being reelected to his high office — once held by Pitt, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lloyd George, Churchill and Thatcher. Confronting a world of challenges — including Greece’s possible exit from the euro, a massive migration crisis on Europe’s shores, Ukraine’s perilous state, Russia’s continued intransigence, the advance of the Islamic State and the continuing chaos in the Middle East — Cameron chose to talk about . . . a plan to ensure that hospitals in the United Kingdom will be better staffed on weekends.
Tut tut you Britons. How can you invade the Middle East if you're worried about seeing your doctor on the weekend?
Yes, Zakaria would rather Her Majesty's Government spend more of its resources solving foreign problems rather than its own. He goes on to cry about how the United Kingdom continues to reduce its armed forces to just 50,000 troops, cut its defense budget, reduce the price of its alliance with the United States, and certainly not get too deeply involved in American adventures in nation-building with bombs and invasions.
Zakaria, and those also inclined, might want to consider there are a few forces at work here that might explain why the British people aren't interested in global empire:
1. Been there, done that.
Much like America today, by World War 1 the British military forces were spread all over the world, spending a huge amount of its resources maintaining a global order. Well, guess what? Its costs a ton of money, it causes a great deal of death, and in the end you're much better off leaving them to their own wits. Now they can worry about themselves and mind their own business, which actually makes the English more attractive as friends. Took them two centuries or so after 1776 to get the message, but get it they did. There's still further work to do for Westminster in Northern Ireland and Scotland. But when it comes to global empire the British have had quite enough, thanks.
2. America ain't learnin'.
Besides, why bother when the Americans are stupid enough to not learn from the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, Spanish, French and English? As long as the US is willing to go around the world throwing its belly fat everywhere it finds a problem, why should they? Besides, Tony Blair made their country into a ridiculous poodle and they're not going through that again. "Don't ask us to get involved America," they say. "You found the problem, you fix it."
3. They seem to be getting along fine!
London is still the leading city of the world. The pound sterling is solid. Its language is dominant globally. It remains a powerful exporter of culture. In the game of post-colonial European powers, Britain is just killing it. Look at France. Hell, look at frickin Spain! Why screw it all up following America into the land of stupid? Besides, there are internal, more pressing matters to deal with.
Instead of reflecting on exactly how the British pulled back from the world (almost bankrupted by wars) and what we can learn from it, American pundits are reduced to pining for yesterday. They fail to learn the lessons of history: Empires WILL fall. There is no question about this. And usually by overextending themselves militarily, in just about every case. The only question for us is when and more importantly how. Will we be smart enough to choose both when and how, or will it be chosen for us?