The Brooklyn Rail

“Character is power.”

–Booker T. Washington

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

–Helen Keller

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

–Edmund Burke

Most Americans are at this point aware of the short yet intense history of the US’s two opposite frames of political thinking: one is a policy of containment, and the other a policy of enlargement, especially when we took a commanding global role as successor of the British Empire after WWII. The perpetual contest between these opposing outlooks, one a party of liberty of the right that controls one half that squarely belongs to the tyranny of the minority, and the other a party of equality of the left that presides over the other half dictating the tyranny of the majority, has been the essential core in maintaining the stability of this democratic republic. And both are necessary to govern the balance within the country, which allows for the necessary relationship between both the democratic and republican attributes of this unique equation to mediate their extreme ideological differences with each of their strength and ambition. Although doing so has not always been easy since the nation was created on July 4, 1776, still, depending on how the negative and positive effects relate to each other it is possible somehow to gain potential benefits to regulating the health and wealth of this nation. The danger lies in allowing the friction between them to create a breaking point by too much attention and emphasis given to our partisan wars.

We human beings, who inhabit seven continents across the world, stretching across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia, with a total population of 8.2 billion, have always to some extent have accepted the fact that accidents, also known as asymmetrical occurrences, are abundant and real. Whatever the differences that either unite us or set us apart from one another, be it lies about culture, religion, politics, or even say geography, we have also come to broadly agree that unintended consequences and perverse outcomes are the rules of human affairs, which at times take their forms at home, other times abroad. We’re coming to terms with this same and familiar struggle to gain greater clarity on how the US has gone from a long period of unipolarity, at least since the end of the Cold War in 1991, to the return of great power politics that give rise to endless challenges and tensions. For unipolarity implies the three decades of significant changes and transformations, which inevitably entitled the creation of a new meritocratic elite, composed of a small urban-based, educated, and cosmopolitan population, all of whom have been increasingly resented by a larger part of the working class. Having witnessed the rise of Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, and Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia, among others, in addition to Brexit, voters for Marine Le Pen in France, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Donald Trump here in the US, we must ask ourselves: what are our options? Must we again ask ourselves what our working definition of liberalism is now? Some of us may propose that while in Europe the center-right parties are inclined to pro-free market, at home it’s been leaning on the support of center-left.

The question is: if we were to think that liberalism is absolutely built on a philosophical tradition that envisions human societies as collections of autonomous individuals, all of whom need to be protected by the rules of law that limit power, we’ve certainly taken for granted that liberalism, being associated with the Enlightenment project which explores the cognitive groundwork of modern natural science that gives rise to modern technology, would forever provide economic growth and human progress. But can we be confident still in our thinking that liberalism is solely invested in constant reform, not revolution? While it’s true that the cumulative progress in science has improved our physical conditions, from our health to our material comfort, it’s difficult to measure how it has enriched our spiritual life. As we’ve experienced the weight of pessimism that quickly engendered such a strong negative view of our public culture, it was during the Trump presidency that such sentiment was amplified. For the right it manifests as catastrophism. For the left it’s revealed in the topics of depression and mental health. We’ve generally noticed that when our people are caught in a state of fear and anxiety, they’re more inclined to move from the left economically in favor of the right culturally.

In the midst of our current global crisis—including the ongoing Russian assault on Ukraine that poses an imminent threat to the European security system; same thing can be said of the Iranian assault in the Middle East, and the volatility of China in Asia—there came an unexpected event that has quickly changed the balance of political power, when President Biden on July 21 announced the decision to end his 2024 reelection bid while endorsing Vice President Harris to be his party’s nominee. As Trump had named J.D. Vance his running mate on July 15, Harris picked Tim Walz as her choice of a running mate on August 6; the prevailing mood began immediately to shift at their first pre-election campaign of the Democratic Party for the presidential elections in Philadelphia on August 6. We’re now witnessing the renewed spark of energy on the left, radiating the inner light while beaming with positivity, as opposed to the right insisting on darkness that is solemnly feeding on negativity. Here I leave you all the following remark once made by the legendary Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Buddhist monk, peace activist, teacher, poet, and author: When God said, “Let there be light.” Light said, “I shall have to wait, my Lord.” God said, “Why do you have to wait?” Light in response, said, “I wait for darkness to arrive so we both can manifest together.” God continued, “But darkness is already there.” And light said, “In that case, I’m already there.”

Onward, upward with love, courage, and cosmic optimism to us all,

Phong H. Bui

P.S. This issue is dedicated to our friends and mentors Audrey Flack (1931–2024), Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe (1945–2024), Jacqueline de Jong (1939–2024), June Leaf (1929–2024), Dorothy Lichtenstein (1939–2024), Anton Van Dalen (1938–2024), Bill Viola (1951–2024), and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (1928–2024). All of them had radical and distinct visions that led them to live according to each of their profound contributions to our culture. We hope to pay individual tribute to all in our NSE. Meanwhile, we send our deepest condolences to all members of immediate families, friends, and admirers across the world. We’d like to thank our brilliant summer interns Maisie Molot and Kamora Monroe for their wonderful labor of love. Lastly, we send our deep gratitude, and a warm farewell to Programs Associate extraordinaire Elinor Krichmar on her next journey, while welcoming Maggley Vielot as her successor, as well as three new Production Assistants, Jackson Pacheco, Min Park, and Jonathan Truong. We also welcome Mark Hudson, Natalia Gierowska, and Francis Naumann as our luminous new editors-at-large.