I began by asking myself the question linked inevitably to the survival of the United States as a trusted nation in the 21st century: Why can't America admit defeat?
What is it in the American psyche that seems to dictate the necessity to be proven not only right, but superior in dealings with the outside world?
I have lived the better part of 40 years in Japan, a country whose nationalistic ardor and patriotic zeal once easily matched that of the U.S. If the Japanese government has not sufficiently apologized for the utter brutality their nation inflicted in Asia and the Pacific, the people of this country did accept defeat — and occupation by the victors — with a certain degree of grace and gratitude toward their conquerors that persists to this day.