The Jefferson Century Website for Master’s in International Security Professional Colloquium Course - MA Candidate Paul Birdwell

The Jefferson Century website is a portion of the work in the last class, the Professional Colloquium, for an MA in International Security at the University of Arizona for MA candidate Paul Birdwell. Within this website, one will find the writings of Paul Birdwell during his two years of study, and a couple of overarching themes that have been more fully developed while working towards this Master’s in International Security degree.

Those two overarching themes are:

Security Precedes and Makes Prosperity Possible - Paul Birdwell - April 7, 2019

United States Navy Battlegroup

The 21st Century will be the century when the Western ideas of Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination as embodied in the American Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution will become a reality or at least an opportunity for a majority of the people on the Earth.

Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams working on Declaration of Independence - July, 1776 - Painting by Leon Gerome Ferris

Paul Birdwell, April 14, 2019

The American Century - The 20th Century

In the February 1941 issue of Life Magazine Henry Luce, the co-founder and publisher of Time Inc. media publications, declared that the 20th Century would be the American Century (The American Century, Life Magazine, February 1941). As history unfolded over the next six decades with America defeating fascism in Europe and Asia the United States of America (U.S.) became the most powerful country on Earth, and indeed the 20th had become the American Century.

Henry Luce - August 1948

Henry Luce went on to write in his The American Century piece that America was uniquely positioned to help make the values of freedom, liberty, democracy, and free-marketing capitalism the defining characteristics of the 20th century, but only if we had the courage to act which in February 1941 meant the U.S. directly confronting the rising fascism in Germany and Japan.

America and Western democracies paid a tremendous price in treasure and wealth to both defeat the fascism of Germany and Japan in World War II, but also to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. As the U.S. economy has roared ahead since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it has far too often been American leaders taking their eyes off the hard-won victories of the 20th century which has allowed authoritarianism to rise again in Europe and Asia.

Major Country GDPs - Source: World Bank

Economic growth is vital to America remaining one of the most powerful countries in the world which will allow the U.S. to promote the Western ideas of Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination, but U.S. leaders must aggressively defend those ideas at home and champion them abroad. Russia’s attack on the 2016 U.S. election and China’s long-game to counter the fundamental underpinnings of the American Republic by keeping tight control of their people at home and pushing back against the West around the world are direct threats to those critical Western ideas. There is no guarantee that the world that Americans enjoy today, which allows them to worry little about world affairs, will continue forever just as no one could have imagined in 1900 the two World Wars in the 20th century which played a big role in creating the world we live in today.

The Jefferson Century - The 21st Century

The 21st century has begun much like the 20th century with authoritarian leaders in Europe (Russia) and Asia (China) restricting the rights of the media and their people while making aggressive moves against Western countries within their spheres of influence much like Germany and Japan did 100 years ago.

Adolf Hitler declaring war against the United States in front of the Reichstag delegates on 11 December 1941

As Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin move to strip the rights of their citizens, they see the Freedom, Liberty, Democracy, and Self-Determination enjoyed by citizens in America and other Western countries as a direct threat to their rule. Both China and Russia are now conducting active intelligence and influence operations in the West such as Russia’s attack on the 2016 American election and China’s aggressive intelligence spying operations in Western countries. America has for the most part since the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991 been on the sidelines when it comes to checking the increasing authoritarianism in the world while allowing a direct attack on the American homeland in 2001 and conducting foolish and never-ending wars in the Middle East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin giving the 2018 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly

China's President Xi Jinping gives a speech at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party Congress

Although it seems unlikely there will be another world war between authoritarian countries and Western democracies as there was in the 20th century, primarily because of the existence of massive nuclear arsenals on both sides, a war of ideas has broken out and the next few decades will determine the future of the planet and its people. This war of ideas is between increasing authoritarianism and people living under the thumb of a leader or political party that wants to control over every facet of people’s lives and the fundamental ideas found in America’s Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution of Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination.

Signing the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776 by John Trumbull

Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination are those Western Ideas, and it is the thesis embodied in the writings on this website that as the 20th century was the American Century it will be Western ideas that will win the day in the 21st and it will become known if not in name but certainly in reality The Jefferson Century.

If the 21st century becomes The Jefferson Century, it will be the Chinese and Russian people along with hundreds of millions of others on the planet that will enjoy the Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination now cherished by those living in America and Western democracies. The Jefferson Century will certainly not just happen because the authoritarians that are now leading the two main rivals to America in China and Russia understand the direct threat that Western ideas pose to their rule. It will take a strong American Republic with determined leaders to make Thomas Jefferson’s declaration that, “All men are created equal,” to become a reality or at least an opportunity for everyone on the Earth.

President Ronald Reagan, perhaps the greatest fighter and defender of Western ideas to ever occupy the office of the Presidency save Abraham Lincoln, realized how precious the rights enjoyed by Americans are and that no American should assume they will always exist when he said in a speech in 1964 (Ronald Reagan, A Time For Choosing, October 27, 1964, Los Angeles, California):

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Governor Ronald Reagan, California State Capitol, 1967

The optimistic view of what was to come in the 21st century in the aftermath of the West winning the Cold War with some even claiming it was “The End of History” is now gone and the path ahead is uncertain. With America today almost entirely out of the democracy promotion game, Europe and the United Kingdom in chaos, and rising authoritarianism in Russia and China emboldened by a sidelined America the dangers ahead are real and must be dealt with head-on by the West.

The 21st century can indeed become The Jefferson Century with the Western ideas of Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination becoming a reality or at least an opportunity for all people on the Earth. It will take the American Republic leading the way and showing the world just how great our short lives on this planet can be when individuals control their future and have a say in the life of their country.

In the moments after the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, Benjamin Franklin said in the words of James Madison on the future of the just created American Republic:

Benjamin Franklin

“Whilst the last members were signing it Doctor Franklin looking towards the Presidents Chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that Painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. I have, said he, often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.”

The Rising Sun Armchair (George Washington's Chair), Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This observer believes in 2019 like Dr. Franklin did in 1776 that the best days are still ahead for America and that indeed the 21st century whether in name or not will become The Jefferson Century when the Western ideas of Freedom - Liberty - Democracy - Self-Determination will eventually come to be enjoyed, cherished, and defended by everyone on the Earth.