It is undeniable that WW2 gave the United States the status of the preeminent world power, but it was not without cost
What makes us so different is our Constitution, much of it a negative document as to what our government cannot do or take away from its people. In fact, Europe learned a great deal from America...self-government, freedoms that were unheard of in the monarchies of our motherland, and a democracy with controls that protect even the minority.
It is undeniable that WW2 gave the United States the status of the preeminent world power, but it was not without cost, nor was it out of a burning desire to do so. We hesitated to get involved in the conflict for over two years. Preeminence was a natural byproduct of the logical victor. For much of our history, an ocean was sufficient.
What has brought us together in the past—economic ties, language, and religion—has somewhat melted in the heat of changing values in Europe and the consequences of the 3rd world. Since the dissolution of the Soviet threat, we have seen Europe engage in the crumbling of free speech, the softening of the Christian ethic, the diminishing of Western values, the not-so-free markets, and an almost universal feeling among Europeans that we are still conducting the Marshall Plan of 1949. This situation has caused us, living across the ocean, to pause and reflect.
In other words, as has been expressed on numerous occasions, when there are soft people, hard times follow.
The glue holding the West together has somewhat diminished since the Soviet dissolution, but we are watching Europe closely.
The two most problematic developments in our beloved cousins' countries have been their propensity for globalism and the unchecked influx of unscreened immigration, especially from Islamic nations. The most surprising element is their mistaken belief that these immigrants they have accepted will submit to a cosmopolitan society.
A day hardly goes by without seeing video of Muslim riots in France or other parts of Europe.
Islam has desired Europe since at least 732, when Charles Martel abruptly stopped their westward march in France at the Battle of Tours.