This past week, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court John Roberts, for the second time, as well as Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, spoke out in defense of the Court. For example, the Chief Justice said, “This job is to obviously decide cases, but in the course of that, to check the excesses of Congress or the executive, and that does require a degree of independence.”
It would be more effective if the Trump-nominated justices and other conservative members of the Court also spoke out. The need for the Court to make these statements is underscored by recent remarks from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before Congress. She stated, in effect, that the administration will not follow the Supreme Court’s order to return Garcia to the United States. Thus, a constitutional crisis is looming—if it hasn’t already begun.
Now, on to my main topic. May 8, 2025, known as VE Day, marked the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of the war in Europe. Until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, there had been no significant wars in Europe involving major powers. By contrast, only twenty-one years separated the end of World War I from the start of World War II.
There are many explanations for this distinction. I’ll mention a few that are especially relevant today. The most significant reason is how the United States approached the post-war period. After World War I, there was a proposal to establish a version of what would become the United Nations—it was called the League of Nations. But the effort was doomed from the start, as the United States refused to join. At that time, and throughout the interwar period, U.S. foreign policy was largely isolationist. The belief was that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans protected the nation from foreign conflicts.
Economically, even during the prosperity of the 1920s, the United States showed little interest in helping to rebuild Europe. Germany’s economy was particularly fragile due to the harsh terms of the 1918 armistice, which required Germany to pay reparations.
Then came the Great Depression, and the U.S. had to focus on its own economic troubles. As part of its recovery efforts, the U.S. enacted high tariffs on imports to protect American industries through the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
Meanwhile, authoritarian regimes were rising across Europe. Russia had become communist in 1917. Germany turned fascist in 1933 when Hitler rose to power, and Italy had already undergone a similar shift in 1922 with Mussolini’s rise.
When Germany violated the terms of the 1918 armistice and began occupying various territories, the rest of Europe—and the United States—did nothing. France and England even appeased Hitler at Munich by selling out Czechoslovakia. Sensing weakness, Hitler invaded Poland, and World War II began.
In contrast, following World War II, the United States took a central role in global leadership. The United Nations was headquartered in New York. The Marshall Plan delivered significant aid to rebuild Europe. When the Soviet Union attempted to blockade Berlin, the U.S. responded with the Berlin Airlift. Then came NATO. Unlike the post–World War I era, the economies of Western Europe did not collapse, thanks in large part to American support.
History shows that when America signals weakness—such as doing nothing when Russia annexed Crimea or withdrawing troops from Afghanistan—authoritarians like Putin believe they can act without consequence. Thus, Russia invaded Ukraine. To its credit, the United States has since shown leadership in supporting Ukraine.
However, Trump and other isolationists seek to return America to the inward-looking policies of the interwar period, promoting military withdrawal and economic tariffs. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.
America must continue to lead the free world. If it does not, authoritarian regimes will believe they have free rein to invade and oppress without consequence. The failure to lead could once again lead the world into another global war.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
