South China Sea and China (2011-2017)

[carl]

No, the Cold War era does not define us, nor does the 20 years of post-Cold War. One has to look at the whole, and of the whole, these two recent eras are far more anomalous than definitive of the American character and nation.

You can't measure a 10' pond with a 6" stick. Same is true for history. We do seem to be forgetting who we are though and that is sad. A lot of short sticks in DC. Read that anyway you want.

So the cold war, which lasted a lot of years, does not define us. And the post cold war, which lasted 20 years does not define us. So the upshot is that our actions since WWII do not define us. That sounds like a sales pitch to me. "Trust us. After all, look at Lincoln."

If I was overseas, I would view much of American history with great admiration, but make my decisions based upon American actions since WWII and place more emphasis on the more recent events. It would then be prudent to reach the same conclusion as JMA.