I am always struck when president Obama talks about being on a “side” of history, as though history is a force that drives unstoppably in a particular direction.

He is wrong about this. Solzhenitsyn said it very well:

“If we wait for history to present us with freedom and other precious gifts, we risk waiting in vain. History is us – and there is no alternative but to shoulder the burden of what we so passionately desire, and bear it out of the depths.”

— Alexander Solzhenitsyn

History is not a force or an ally. It is already past. We are history. If we do not do it, it does not happen. If we let someone else do it, it will be theirs, not ours.

Dick Cheney made a similar, and profoundly obvious comment on this to TheHill recently:

“The terrorists who threaten this country and our friends are on the wrong side of civilization,” he said during prepared remarks at the American Enterprise Institute. “They will be on the wrong side of history only if we put them there. We must deal with threats before they become grave dangers and dangers before they become catastrophes.”

Leadership prepares. Leadership thinks long term. Leadership admits mistakes and takes responsibility. The group called ISIS is a threat, but not the biggest one on the world stage. Russian adventurism, Iranian and Korean nuclear ambitions and the rise of an aggressive China are clearly more important long-term threats, but the president seems to act primarily in response to what has been shown on recent newscasts.

It is up to us, the electorate, to supervise our government. There is no one else. The US military is us, not “them”. It is our president. We elected him, and it is up to us to hold his feet to the fire. Public opinion drives our politicians to act. Will our “opinions” drive longer term policies, or will we be swayed by the latest, most brutal and outrageous news coverage and then go back to sleep?

As a still dominant world power, we have a responsibility to use our power wisely. I pray that as a people we will take that responsibility seriously.