The lazy days of summer beckoned me to look for a good summer read. I was browsing in a bookstore and came across The Ugly American, a 1958 best-seller. It is a re-read for me: I read it when it was first published.

It was written at a time when America was consumed by the Cold War. President Dwight Eisenhower and many politicians and military experts were promoting the doctrine of communist containment in Southeast Asia.

The book’s authors, William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, give us an account of the imperial attitude of many diplomats, congressmen and CIA types who were driven by a passionate belief that Americans were the entitled and anointed best hope to save Southeast Asia from communist domination, in what later became heralded as the domino effect.

The authors detail the arrogance and elitism of a host of unsavory fictitious American characters who totally misunderstood the complexity of the peoples in that region. It is a study in what not to do if your goal is to promote democracy in countries experiencing a communist insurgency.

Bruce Sharpe, founder of the Mekong Network, had this to say: “And yet, American foreign policy is still a mistake. The Cold War is long gone and communism discredited, but it hardly matters. Who needs an enemy like communism when you are already your own worst enemy?”

One of the few positive results to come out of that early Southeast Asia debate was the Peace Corps.

President John F. Kennedy championed the Peace Corps in 1960. America can be proud of the many optimistic young people who volunteered and left a positive and indelible mark on the lives of so many people in foreign lands. They were and are the Good Americans and the best goodwill ambassadors we’ve ever had.

Some people are concerned that America is experiencing a resurgence of Ugly Americans in our diplomatic corps.

If there was ever a perfect reason for why America needs a well-educated, informed and professionally trained diplomatic corps, we need only look at the state of affairs in our current administration’s foreign policies.

There are not enough adjectives or adverbs to adequately describe the corruption, incompetence and immaturity that is on display in our approach to foreign policies. It is the “we know best” mentality. It is sophomoric in content and vacuously administered by a revolving door of inept secretaries of state. They are instructed to hate our friends and allies and embrace our enemies.

It has been 60 years since The Ugly American was written. I am not sure that America is any better off today than it was in 1958. For decades after the book was written, “Ugly American” became synonymous with “American tourist.” We were unwelcome wearing flip-flops in the Vatican and shouting for Big Macs in Paris. Many Americans who go abroad are not first-class ambassadors. They are second-raters. Our president is a classic example.

Ugly or not, America has much to be remorseful for. Politics, egos and greed were the handmaidens of our misfortunes in the past and too many good people gave their lives for failed causes. We have been contrite for our mistakes, and we should resolve to do better in the future.

Homer Simpson advised his children: “You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”

Sorry, Homer – the lesson is to keep trying. We will make mistakes, but we need to keep trying to make our world a better place for ourselves and our posterity. Happiness is elusive but possible in a troubled world. We must keep trying.

We should not retreat into a bunker mentality and pretend that we are God’s gift to mankind. Several other countries already lay claim to that title. We should do what we do best: lead by example.

Kindness and generosity to our friends and allies is always better than threats and intimidation. Children learn that in grade school. It is a tragedy that the folks governing our county skipped those classes.

(Jim Baer lives in Concord.)