America is not a leading nation of the world in promoting a progressive human society in which people can live together in happiness.

Over the past year, the actions of the current leadership of the United States—whether through treating other countries with import tariffs, coercion driven by narrow self-interest, the abduction of leaders of other nations, or the deployment of aircraft to bomb other countries—have clearly demonstrated a severe moral decline. These actions reflect a profound blindness of wisdom, to the extent that the United States can no longer be regarded as a respectable leader of the world.

What is surprising is that, despite the poor and harmful policy behavior of U.S. leadership toward other nations, the American people have largely remained silent, showing little opposition or resistance to their own leaders. This raises an important question: do most Americans approve of the morally degraded conduct of their leaders, or do the American people and the country’s own administrative system lack sufficient power to resist and eliminate such reprehensible behavior? If this is the case, has the system of governance of America—a country widely recognized for its achievements in technology and artificial intelligence—fallen behind?

It can therefore be said that America is not a world leader in building a progressive and peaceful human society. To speak bluntly, America has instead become a leader in producing machines designed to kill humanity, while taking satisfaction in the wealth gained from selling these instruments of destruction. How shameful and tragic it is that an enormous amount of human wisdom has been exhausted in inventing and developing tools to kill our fellow human beings.

Why has the wisdom of humanity in this era fallen to such a low level?

What should other countries do when America behaves like a bully?

Who will awaken moral awareness and spiritual wisdom in America?

How many more lives must be lost in this world before Americans feel satisfied by the ocean of blood shed by their fellow human beings?

At any time and in any place on this Earth, when those in power are obscured by ignorance and their wisdom collapses, they inevitably bring severe devastation upon the masses.

Only mindfulness—the awakened awareness that sees through conventional constructs—together with wisdom, forgiveness, patience, sacrifice, sharing, generosity (of both resources and opportunities), non-discrimination and non-contempt based on race, skin color, language, or origin, as well as a refusal to accept and a firm rejection of the wicked behavior of the vile—only these can lead humanity to live together in lasting and sustainable happiness.

Buddhist Hotline
www.buddhisthotline.com

January 27, 2026