Millions of Americans turned on their radios to hear Roosevelt explain why the U.S. should support Europe's forces of freedom.
Americans at the time were deeply uncertain about whether they should be involved in the European war, even though they were horrified by the reports of its horrors. Roosevelt used one of his famous chats to convince them that the U.S. should deploy its vast industrial capacity for freedom.
He said in the firm that Americans had let into their living rooms for most of that decade. There will be no bottles in our determination to aid Great Britain. No combination of dictators will weaken that determination by threats.
President Joe Biden must decide how far he is willing to go in empowering Ukraine to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. will defend every inch of NATO territory as required by all 29 alliance members. It is commendable and crucial for alliance members bordering Russia and Ukraine, but it has been construed by Putin as an open game on the part of Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.
It's time for President Biden to commit Americans and the democratic world to defend the sovereignty, independence, and freedom of Ukraine. That means political support and rhetorical common cause, but also intelligence and military assistance to defeat Putin's advance. President Biden has stated his own convictions.
When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos, as President Biden said at his State of the Union address this year. They are moving. The costs and threats to America and the world are increasing.
Biden said that the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II. Efforts at diplomacy were rejected by him. He thought the West and NATO wouldn't respond. He thought he could divide us. Putin was wrong. We were ready.
With each day of Putin's advance, are we ready for the next stage, which is growing uglier and more dangerous?
The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen is down to 1989 levels according to the newest report by the V-Dem Institute.
The number of countries that V-dem considers liberal democracies was down to 34 in 2021, the smallest number since 1995.
There is evidence that autocrats are getting bolder. The world has seen five military coups in the last two decades, but Putin's invasion of Ukraine was the largest one in history.
V-Dem writes that polarization and government misinformation are increasing. Publics with differing opinions are more likely to distrust information from different sources.
Moises Naim wrote about the Revenge of Power, How Autocrats are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century in his new book. He sees this type of power as incompatible with democratic values at the center of any free society.
President Roosevelt confronted an international situation in 1940, while President Biden confronted one in 2022. The danger of aggressive authoritarianism is connected to the insufficient common cause to confront it.
Three months after the signing of the Tripartite Pact among Germany, Italy and Japan, President Roosevelt appealed to the United States to stay out of the war.
The Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China doesn't seem to go as far as it could. Its language is similar to that of the U.S. and it is armed with nuclear weapons.
There are no limits to the friendship between the two states.
President Biden now has to consider the dangers of the moment against the future perils that will come from insufficient response.
Roosevelt told Americans that they must admit there is risk in any course they take. I believe that the majority of our people agree that the course that I advocate involves the least risk now and the greatest hope for world peace in the future.
FDR told Biden to do more to stop Putin or pay the consequences later.
Frederick Kempe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council.
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