To Re-Emerge As a Meaningful World Leader, U.S. Should Build a Coalition Committed to Collaboration on Pandemics and Reallocation of Resources

In a Wall Street Journal commentary published last week, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger focused our attention where it must ultimately be (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-coronavirus-pandemic-will-forever-alter-the-world-order-11585953005?fbclid=IwAR3all2DLUlDBLGjtaS6Bys-GgxskJ2DcJ2rGwvemmbyn9qeKLTAUBnwAqI). In his commentary, Mr. Kissinger recognizes that we must both reframe the manner in which governments at all levels prepare to address pandemics and ensure our cherished liberal notions of freedom do not take a back seat. He does not fully address, however, what I believe is a critical point: to emerge as a meaningful global leader, the United States should bring together an international community more deeply committed to logistical and scientific cooperation against pandemics. We must recognize that our collective obsession with military spending largely rests on the fallacy that we - humans - are the greatest force on our planet. We are not, and we never have been. Ask survivors of hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes, or the millions among migrant populations escaping famine caused by global climate shift. The US should therefore emerge from this pandemic by building an independent global coalition of nations committed to a reallocation of resources toward cooperative solutions to the natural forces that will overwhelm any missile or missile defense - tiny molecules that recognize neither borders nor demonstrations of strength. That North Korea would attempt to flex its might by missile testing in the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak is perhaps the greatest glaring example of folly. Carl Sagan famously reminded us that our planet is a mere speck of dust in the universe, and that we nevertheless choose to mistreat each other, fight over land, fight over religion and otherwise engage in acts of power-mongering as if we have some greater presence among the stars. All we have is the opportunity to spend our time here in a way that produces some virtue. Perhaps this pandemic can serve as a wake up call to those would place themselves in positions of leadership, so that we may commit to the sort of human cooperation needed to save our existence. Collaboration on this focused goal would provide a much-needed demonstration that we can build on to address other existential challenges that require broad multinational effort.