“The torch has passed”

To carry the torch the leader must accept that there is a terrible burden to be carried. This burden rests upon maintaining a deep moral commitment to the values of a free society

In January 1960 on a bitterly cold morning in Washington, D.C.I heard John Kennedy give his inaugural speech.  These stirring words have been a call to life for my generation. “..the torch has passed to a new generation of Americans”….”Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
We wanted peace but not at the cost of liberty.  We believed in law and justice applied by independent judges.  We believed that competitive markets, private property and free trade were the way to true freedom and to universal wealth.  We believed that there was evil and that military and moral strength were needed to preserve liberty.  We believed in intellectual humility and the power of science to lead humanity to a better place.  We believed liberty was not just for Americans but for all.  
In the 56 years since that morning when Kennedy set this rallying cry for liberty these goals have been reached.  Poverty has been greatly reduced.  Science has provided the basis for the technologies that have transformed our lives.  While we do not have peace we have had much less war.  Mankind has conquered disease and extended the lives of every human.  We have reduced intolerance, lifted women from a life of drudgery and slavery.  We have defeated the evil empires of the Soviet Union and Maoist’s China.  We have virtually eliminated starvation.  We have brought education to most children.  These have been 56 years that are among the brightest jewels in the history of mankind.  The nation state prospered in a world of cooperation and increasing open markets.  Democracy spread to more and more nations.  
We are a long way from that 1960 morning.  The nation that Kennedy led has faltered; America turned its back on the accomplishments and achievements of the past years.   In November 2016 the torch of liberty passed from the American President to the German Chancellor.  The new American President has washed his hands of the task of assuring “the survival and success of liberty.”   He has abandoned the principles and values on which the West has successfully build the world of prosperity and progress experienced everywhere over the past 56 years.  As the American President dropped the torch the German Chancellor has picked it up.
To carry the torch the leader must accept that there is a terrible burden to be carried.  This burden rests upon maintaining a deep moral commitment to the values of a free society.  These values are straightforward:  Tell the truth. Protect the rights of human beings— freedom of speech, freedom to follow any religion, rights to private property,  the right to personal privacy and a big heart to understand and support the unfortunate and unlucky.  Accept responsibility to live a life of honor.  Seek to understand and learn about the world around us.  Understand and live by the Socratic vision of humility.
The American President has abandoned these values. Lie for self-promotion, abuse relationships, reject a life of honor. The details are too sad for recounting.  With the objective to gain or pretend to gain great wealth without any moral underpinning he is not worthy to carry the torch of liberty.
On the contrary Merkel is a woman of great honor.  She has lived her life in difficult circumstances and through diligence and work gradually achieved real things.  Her parents moved to East Germany for the noble work of preaching the Christian message in the midst of a brutal godless totalitarian establishment.  This was a life of poverty where she focused on her education and accepted that the path forward called for discipline and simplicity.  She was fortunate enough to have the intelligence and drive to become a physicist and to contribute to our understanding of the world.  She reached the boundaries of Humanity’s greatest intellectual achievements, a boundary that few have stood on.
The question that one has to ask about a person is how would they have behaved if they had lived in East Germany when the police state was among the most pervasive and brutal?  Would you become an informant for the Stasi? [the East German secret police].  Many did to make their life more comfortable and earn some extra goodies.  One by one the files of the Stasi have shown us how pervasive the spying was.  Perhaps one million East Germans became informants!  Merkel did not.  I think that Donald Trump would have readily agreed to be an informant for Stasi seeing this as a way to increase his wealth and go after his detractors. 
Merkel has brought her religious feelings to her work as Chancellor.  She has taken a deeply humane approach to the flow of refugees from the Middle East facing tremendous political conflict over such humanity.  Trump has scoffed at her.
Chancellor since November 2005 she has maintained close ties with the United States.  The Chancellor has struggled to hold the European Union together and to maintain the Euro. Trump wants to break up the EU, destroy the Euro and support like minded political parties in Western Europe.  He delights in Brexit and supports Marine Le Pen.
There is no doubt that the torch of liberty’s leadership is now in Merkel’s hands.  A deeply moral person with conservative but humane social policies, she is a strong proponent of keys to the Western alliance—the EU, the Euro and the NATO alliance.  Obama thought very highly of her.  A very high intelligence, a strong moral standard, no desire for personal wealth at the expense of her principles, she is the ideal leader that the West needs.
Freedom rests in the hands of the western alliance including Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.  The torch of liberty has passed to the new leader Chancellor Merkel. Given the irregular, childish behavior of the American President those who love liberty must turn to the Chancellor for leadership.  She faces a tough election in 2017 and we must wish her well. Should she lose the west and the cause of liberty falls into a black hole.
Merkel is not alone. The Financial Times in a recent article on German democracy and the United States, concluded, after a story of a German lawyer who had devoted his life to protecting democratic principles 
“Senfft’s[the lawyer described] generation of Germans built a democracy on mostly unwritten rules. For instance: German politicians would place the law above the so-called will of the people. They wouldn’t paint political rivals as enemies. They would prefer tedium to bombast. They would ensure poorer Germans didn’t fall too far, as had happened in the Weimar Republic. They would leave journalists alone. Perhaps Germans can now teach democracy to Americans.”
These are words for everyone to remember.

    The writer is an economist

 

“The torch has passed”

To carry the torch the leader must accept that there is a terrible burden to be carried. This burden rests upon maintaining a deep moral commitment to the values of a free society

In January 1960 on a bitterly cold morning in Washington, D.C.I heard John Kennedy give his inaugural speech. These stirring words have been a call to life for my generation. ..the torch has passed to a new generation of Americans.Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, to assure the survival and success of liberty. We wanted peace but not at the cost of liberty. We believed in law and justice applied by independent judges. We believed that competitive markets, private property and free trade were the way to true freedom and to universal wealth. We believed that there was evil and that military and moral strength were needed to preserve liberty. We believed in intellectual humility and the power of science to lead humanity to a better place. We believed liberty was not just for Americans but for all. In the 56 years since that morning when Kennedy set this rallying cry for liberty these goals have been reached. Poverty has been greatly reduced. Science has provided the basis for the technologies that have transformed our lives. While we do not have peace we have had much less war. Mankind has conquered disease and extended the lives of every human. We have reduced intolerance, lifted women from a life of drudgery and slavery. We have defeated the evil empires of the Soviet Union and Maoists China. We have virtually eliminated starvation. We have brought education to most children. These have been 56 years that are among the brightest jewels in the history of mankind. The nation state prospered in a world of cooperation and increasing open markets. Democracy spread to more and more nations. We are a long way from that 1960 morning. The nation that Kennedy led has faltered; America turned its back on the accomplishments and achievements of the past years. In November 2016 the torch of liberty passed from the American President to the German Chancellor. The new American President has washed his hands of the task of assuring the survival and success of liberty. He has abandoned the principles and values on which the West has successfully build the world of prosperity and progress experienced everywhere over the past 56 years. As the American President dropped the torch the German Chancellor has picked it up. To carry the torch the leader must accept that there is a terrible burden to be carried. This burden rests upon maintaining a deep moral commitment to the values of a free society. These values are straightforward: Tell the truth. Protect the rights of human beings freedom of speech, freedom to follow any religion, rights to private property, the right to personal privacy and a big heart to understand and support the unfortunate and unlucky. Accept responsibility to live a life of honor. Seek to understand and learn about the world around us. Understand and live by the Socratic vision of humility. The American President has abandoned these values. Lie for self-promotion, abuse relationships, reject a life of honor. The details are too sad for recounting. With the objective to gain or pretend to gain great wealth without any moral underpinning he is not worthy to carry the torch of liberty. On the contrary Merkel is a woman of great honor. She has lived her life in difficult circumstances and through diligence and work gradually achieved real things. Her parents moved to East Germany for the noble work of preaching the Christian message in the midst of a brutal godless totalitarian establishment. This was a life of poverty where she focused on her education and accepted that the path forward called for discipline and simplicity. She was fortunate enough to have the intelligence and drive to become a physicist and to contribute to our understanding of the world. She reached the boundaries of Humanitys greatest intellectual achievements, a boundary that few have stood on. The question that one has to ask about a person is how would they have behaved if they had lived in East Germany when the police state was among the most pervasive and brutal? Would you become an informant for the Stasi? [the East German secret police]. Many did to make their life more comfortable and earn some extra goodies. One by one the files of the Stasi have shown us how pervasive the spying was. Perhaps one million East Germans became informants! Merkel did not. I think that Donald Trump would have readily agreed to be an informant for Stasi seeing this as a way to increase his wealth and go after his detractors. Merkel has brought her religious feelings to her work as Chancellor. She has taken a deeply humane approach to the flow of refugees from the Middle East facing tremendous political conflict over such humanity. Trump has scoffed at her. Chancellor since November 2005 she has maintained close ties with the United States. The Chancellor has struggled to hold the European Union together and to maintain the Euro. Trump wants to break up the EU, destroy the Euro and support like minded political parties in Western Europe. He delights in Brexit and supports Marine Le Pen. There is no doubt that the torch of libertys leadership is now in Merkels hands. A deeply moral person with conservative but humane social policies, she is a strong proponent of keys to the Western alliancethe EU, the Euro and the NATO alliance. Obama thought very highly of her. A very high intelligence, a strong moral standard, no desire for personal wealth at the expense of her principles, she is the ideal leader that the West needs. Freedom rests in the hands of the western alliance including Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. The torch of liberty has passed to the new leader Chancellor Merkel. Given the irregular, childish behavior of the American President those who love liberty must turn to the Chancellor for leadership. She faces a tough election in 2017 and we must wish her well. Should she lose the west and the cause of liberty falls into a black hole. Merkel is not alone. The Financial Times in a recent article on German democracy and the United States, concluded, after a story of a German lawyer who had devoted his life to protecting democratic principles Senffts[the lawyer described] generation of Germans built a democracy on mostly unwritten rules. For instance: German politicians would place the law above the so-called will of the people. They wouldnt paint political rivals as enemies. They would prefer tedium to bombast. They would ensure poorer Germans didnt fall too far, as had happened in the Weimar Republic. They would leave journalists alone. Perhaps Germans can now teach democracy to Americans. These are words for everyoneto remember. The writer is an economist