America’s current political strife stems largely from a simple misunderstanding that occurred back in November 2007. Many of us thought we were voting for a candidate for the office of president, but Barack Obama thought he was running for Philanthropist-in-Chief, a position that would entitle him to skip the part where he actually had to earn wealth before giving it away. 

White House policy is being driven by an über-left version of social justice that has deep roots in liberation theology and Marxism. Pope Saint John Paul II worked with Ronald Reagan to bring down an evil empire. Now Pope Francis appears to be working with Obama to bring down capitalism. Expect the left to demand equal sainthood for what they consider to be comparable work by their new friend.

During the last two decades liberals have created a secular, politically-correct equivalent of sharia in America. The electoral mechanics necessary to accomplish this mischief are simple. The Oval Office confers coveted victim status on strategically selected groups and then dispenses special indulgences and taxpayer alms in exchange for their support. This creates a very durable political base willing to give their elected representatives carte blanche as long as they don’t mess with the gravy train.

Like its religious counterpart, America’s secular version of sharia is enforced by true believers, who after demonstrating fealty by going deep into debt during college to acquire the proper indoctrination, go forth as credentialed liberal evangelists, trained to call in media strikes launched against rebel conservative positions by ruling class progressives from the safety of their gated coastal enclaves.

The widespread substitution of indoctrination for education in America produces lots of young people who have been conditioned to believe that their inflated sense of self-worth and moral superiority are marketable skills. Unsurprisingly, many end up in politics, or working for non-profits and NGOs, or in civil service jobs -- secular clerics all -- called to redistribute other people’s money and proscribe unapproved thought or behavior with righteous gusto.

In this progressive utopia-in-progress, causing someone who has victim status to feel uncomfortable for any reason warrants a public lashing by the media. Expressing a non-approved opinion, even in private, on sex, gender, race, marriage, immigration, or the environment can destroy careers, businesses, and families.

Should America at some point in the near future decide that it has done enough penance for not being perfect, and assuming that we have somehow managed to retain meaningful sovereignty and more than a shadow of our former might when that great awakening occurs, we will have some serious global business to attend to.

Russia and Iran will be at the top of that agenda.

You can no more blame Vladimir Putin for taking bites out of Georgia and Ukraine than you could a hungry Eurasian wolf stalking weakened prey. Both countries had been bled wobbly by ruthless thugs and both were attempting to take refuge on the fringes of a shrinking herd of healthy Western nations. Both times Putin pounced, five years apart, the herd bleated loudly then stampeded away in fright.

Vladimir Putin is patiently and methodically exploiting weaknesses the West isn’t yet aware it has. So far he has demonstrated the limits of sanctions as an effective deterrent against unconventional aggression by a major trading partner -- who can also flip a switch and cut off the flow of energy to much of Eastern Europe.

Every country in the world needs energy. If you’ve got it, and are willing to sell it, there will be a long line of interested buyers. By comparison, the queue for American-style democracy these days is much shorter, and grows shorter still when potential buyers bother to read the terms and conditions specified in small print.

Russia knows it’s in the energy business while Washington seems to think America’s job is to peddle discounted democracy franchises and human rights handbooks with updated chapters on gay marriage and gender identity. It’s a tough sell for America now that Washington predicates customer support on whether the buyer nation agrees to join the U.S. war against same-sex public bathrooms.

Even more troubling, Washington now appears to be making a gift to Iran of the deaths of the brave American men and women who fought and defeated the very best that radical Islam could throw at them in Iraq. Handed de facto control of Iraq’s southern oil fields by the Oval Office, Ali Kahmenei would soon have all the wealth and opportunity he needs to create a Shia caliphate and erect a nuclear umbrella over it.

America used to be in the wealth-creation business before Washington pulled the plug. We grew mighty once because our allies grew safer and stronger by doing business with us. Weighed on any honest scale that doesn’t have a liberal thumb on it, the existence of a strong, prosperous America has been a net plus for literally billions of people around the globe. The world will increasingly become a poorer and more perilous place until America gets back to work.