The Great Switch

Being a southerner, it's pretty embarrassing that the Great Switch Occurred because of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's opposition to civil rights. From this point on, the South has transitioned from being pretty much completely Democratic to being predominantly Republican. I don't like the fact that the South is still viewed as quite racist, considering that the Civil Rights Era happened a long time ago. However, there are other reasons for this transition. There has been economic and industrial growth in the region that has attracted people from all over the country. This has contributed to a growing upper-middle class. People in the upper-middle class tend to vote Republican because they believe their economic interests will be protected in the form of tax cuts, etc. Also, there is a large group of white southerners who belong to the religious right political movement who vote for conservative republicans who share their values. Thus, the Great Switch was not all about race. 

I also believe that another "Great Switch" will occur again in the South in which it returns to being predominantly Democratic. The final generation that lived during the era of segregation and Civil Rights is on its way out, and the first generation truly blind to face is finally being born. Therefore, I believe that race will be a very small factor in politics in the not too distant future. 

BLOWBACK

Blowback refers to unintended consequences such as terrorist attacks and economic sanctions that result from foreign policy actions/blunders. As the world's only superpower, America has developed an increasingly imperialistic attitude and has become increasingly reckless in its actions abroad. Although there is no other country in the world that can challenge America militarily, terrorist groups can carry out attacks on innocent citizens to exact revenge for certain things that America has done. The 9/11 terrorist attacks may very well have been blowback for some action that the American public has no knowledge.  Furthermore, at a time when America sinks further into debt and countries such as China and India are becoming major world players, the U.S. will have to anticipate the consequences of its actions because these countries actually have the resources to do major damage with their militaries. 

Soft Power

 Using a combination of both hard and soft power during the Cold War, America was able to effectively contain the spread of communism. Although America used much of its hard power in Korea, Afghanistan, and Vietnam, it would not have been able to take down the Soviet Union without the use of soft power. Toward the late 1980's, the Soviet Union's economy was falling apart, and people were beginning to see that communism doesn't really work. Gorbachev championed American values through "glasnost" and "perestroika", causing Russians to demand capitalism and democracy. In more recent years, however, I believe that America has overextended its use of soft power. The war in Iraq is a perfect example. The reason troops have not pulled out of Iraq is because America wants to establish a stable democracy in the heart of the Middle East in the hope that other middle eastern countries will want to copy Iraq and adopt American values. The longer the violence continues there, however, the less appealing American values will seem, and not just in Iraq.