In his 1796 Farewell Address, President George Washington warned against the danger that would ensue if Americans identified too closely with the interests of any foreign country. He stated that “nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.”

Wiser words were never spoken, but the United States has strayed far from the principles that its first president expressed. The greater inclination of Americans to identify with the agendas of other nations, in turn, has enabled foreign powers and their advocates in the United States to exercise an undue, unhealthy influence over U.S. policy.