Maybe we got it all wrong. Maybe civilizations aren’t the problem, as Samuel Huntington warned, but the answer. If so, we should be worried less about them clashing, and start thinking more about how the interaction between authentic civilizations can be the glue that binds the human community together. This means America should be a powerful voice in that conversation. Rather than being isolated or isolationist, the United States can be a leader in the global revival of an old idea with a bright future. Troubled Past: