Being a redeemer nation is costly, as America is finding out after 20 years of its war on terror.
A Boston University report issued on Wednesday spells out exactly how much it cost in terms of human lives and money for the United States "to bear the ark of the liberties of the world", to use the words of Herman Melville. Nothing less than 929,000 lives and US$8 trillion.
And as the author of the report Neta C. Crawford says, the numbers aren't "the full story of the costs". Little wonder, four American presidents have hidden the dark truth of America's forever war on terror.
But thanks to Boston University's "The US Budgetary Costs of the Post-9/11 Wars" report, the American people now know at least some of the hidden truth. But knowing is one thing, and doing something about it is another.
Here is what the American people must do. Start with the idea of the US being a redeemer nation. To be blunt, the US is no redeemer nation. If at all any redeeming needs to be done, it is at home. The four years of Donald Trump's presidency has exposed the rot within, not only to the Americans, but to the world at large.
The American people must make President Joe Biden, future presidents and all lawmakers do all the redeeming at home. The US is a nation in disrepair. Had the US not gone on the war on terror rampage in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, it could have saved all the US$8 trillion, more than enough to pay for Biden's infrastructure projects. Hospitals, schools, rails, roads, housing for the poor and medical care for all are the opportunities forgone by American taxpayers.
Next, there is the question of what the US has achieved as a result of its 20-year war on terror. Biden will be quick to point out that terrorists have been wiped out of Afghanistan. Just to prove him wrong, a newly formed group calling themselves ISIS-K has killed 13 American servicemen and more than a hundred civilians at Kabul airport.
Moments later, according to The New York Times, Biden was all of George W. Bush: "To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay." Mr President, know this: terror, especially state terror, begets "terrorists". They were there in Sri Lanka when the state terrorised the Tamils. They were there in Iraq when the US terrorised the Iraqis. As if the US army wasn't enough, it sent in mercenaries to shoot and kill civilians.
They are there in Syria as President Bashar al-Assad turned his guns on his people. They are there in Kabul, though they aren't supposed to be, according to American intelligence. Terrorism will never end so long as there is state terror.
This is a lesson American presidents find it hard to learn. Perhaps they think themselves to be Thomas Paines or Herman Melvilles, always too eager to make little Americas out of the nations of the world. The international community is neither able nor willing to change America.
Only the American people have the power to remake America. We say this to the 334 million Americans: You have the power to begin America again. Be the ones to bring forth a new and just America.