The first 115 days of the Trump Administration have been filled more remedial action than we have seen from most presidents in their entire terms.
Invariably, the forecasters focus on the next 12 short months while failing to appreciate the sweep of history that has brought us to this next chapter of American history. The pessimistic "bears" among us have warned that there are systematic threats to our economy, our nation, and the stability of the world. The optimistic "bulls" will tout the enormous advances in reducing the former administration's inflation and out-of-control illegal border crossings, the brimming new technology, foreign investments in the trillions that will bring many new jobs, Wall Street confidence, and a resilient American economy that continues to set the pace for the rest of the world.
In truth, they are both right, and the reality of America in the first half of 2025 is far more nuanced than any one side would have you believe.
With an appreciation of history, one needs to look at our nation as a democracy that has demonstrated time and time again an enormous resiliency to profound changes that would have fractured any other country -- and that has been so literally since our independence.
As president, George Washington had to send troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion when a band of angry citizens of a new United States violently protested a tax on alcohol levied to pay off Revolutionary War debts. Without a strong response, America could have disintegrated at the start.
Economic cycles of boom and bust could have dismantled our democracy. Few Americans recognize how close our nation came to the political edge during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when massive unemployment led to despair among millions.
World War II propelled America into its role of a global superpower, which it continues to hold today. The war's legacy created a pathway for civil rights, the emergence of the middle class, an interstate highway system that connected us to all points of the compass, and a strong and resilient government that avoided nuclear war through strength, leading to our ultimate victory in the Cold War.
So as forecasters hope to peer into the next 12 months, our past reminds us that if we focus exclusively on the day-to-day ebb and flow of our nation's pulse, we miss seeing the incredible achievements of a country that remains a beacon of freedom and opportunity.
This week, President Donald Trump not only cut off the "noose of fire" with which Iran was trying to encircle the entire Middle East, he also tried to bring Russia, China, Syria and Iran in from the cold. Whether or not he will succeed remains to be seen, but the breadth and depth of his vision for a new Middle East -- filled with peace and prosperity rather than poverty and war -- appear so far to have given a whole new life to the idea of peace through commerce, and if the opportunities he has offered do not seem to be working out, he can always move to "Plan B."
While pundits and prognosticators dominate our attention during the next few weeks, in the end, it seems as if we look to the enormous future potential of a strong, dynamic and resilient America.
Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
