Here is a very short essay that I published on Helium.com. The essay was posted on the debate page which posed the following question: Should the US remain a leader on world politics?
The question is so absurd to me, really, that I think I could have typed 500 hundred pages as to why we cannot exit stage-left. I managed to keep it to one page or so. It is currently ranked 3 out of 16 submissions for the "Yes" side.
Let us first dispense with the idea that humanity is somehow served by a nation exhibiting weakness, avoiding confrontation and generally burying it's head in the sand.
Point to me, fellow man, where in history humankind has been served by powerlessness. Evil men have always preyed on the weak. Think now, what would the world be like had America remained separated from the war in Europe during WWII? The darkest epoch in recorded history would surely have fallen upon us.
So, now that we've done away with the belief that being strong is tantamount to being evil, let's move on.
Under no circumstances should America withdraw it's international political status. To what end? Be sure that even the western nations that shamelessly complain about America's overseas involvements still want us around should the excrement hit the fan. Who should think that history is merely one giant misunderstanding and that if only we could talk things out, everyone would get along?
There is a time for war and a time for peace. A time for charity and a time for cruelty.
America, upon the study of all historical states, is the most moral country to ever exist. This may sting the psyche of the Sean Penns and Gore Vidals of the world, but as you can see, they still reside within our borders. And having gained the status of strongest and most moral state in history, what good could come from our exit from the world's stage? The complaints of the bourgeois notwithstanding, we are good and because we are good we must remain active in the world, helping where we can, either with the billions of dollars of donations that we send overseas, or with our fighting men, who willingly volunteer for their work, knowing full well that America helps the weak around the world and that at times this may mean the forceful annihilation of tyrants.
Our involvement in international politics, specifically our supremacy in this sphere, has revolutionized the thinking of the common man around the world. No longer is it held that the farmer is somehow the tool of his government or that kings are imbued with divine right. Today's American may take for granted the paradigm of individual rights but a quick look at bygone times shows that we are an aberration, a social experiment in which only far-future generations will be able to weigh the value. For now though, we can clearly see that few of those who experience our kind of freedom, ever willingly shackle themselves with despotism again.
And that is what awaits much of the world should America fall victim to a shame of it's own might. Despotism and cultural darkness.
Dissenters inevitably cast the labels of fascism and imperialism upon the United States' polices of intervention. Pure hyperbolic rhetoric I say. They ignore the good, magnify the bad, and go about enjoying the fruits of the land.
So don't wane now, America. This could be your finest hour. For only in the crucible of difficult times will a nation's gold be revealed. Future generations will all observe, as I see it, that America changed the world and they will know beyond all common doubt, that the Land of the Free should never hide from international injustice.
The question is so absurd to me, really, that I think I could have typed 500 hundred pages as to why we cannot exit stage-left. I managed to keep it to one page or so. It is currently ranked 3 out of 16 submissions for the "Yes" side.
Let us first dispense with the idea that humanity is somehow served by a nation exhibiting weakness, avoiding confrontation and generally burying it's head in the sand.
Point to me, fellow man, where in history humankind has been served by powerlessness. Evil men have always preyed on the weak. Think now, what would the world be like had America remained separated from the war in Europe during WWII? The darkest epoch in recorded history would surely have fallen upon us.
So, now that we've done away with the belief that being strong is tantamount to being evil, let's move on.
Under no circumstances should America withdraw it's international political status. To what end? Be sure that even the western nations that shamelessly complain about America's overseas involvements still want us around should the excrement hit the fan. Who should think that history is merely one giant misunderstanding and that if only we could talk things out, everyone would get along?
There is a time for war and a time for peace. A time for charity and a time for cruelty.
America, upon the study of all historical states, is the most moral country to ever exist. This may sting the psyche of the Sean Penns and Gore Vidals of the world, but as you can see, they still reside within our borders. And having gained the status of strongest and most moral state in history, what good could come from our exit from the world's stage? The complaints of the bourgeois notwithstanding, we are good and because we are good we must remain active in the world, helping where we can, either with the billions of dollars of donations that we send overseas, or with our fighting men, who willingly volunteer for their work, knowing full well that America helps the weak around the world and that at times this may mean the forceful annihilation of tyrants.
Our involvement in international politics, specifically our supremacy in this sphere, has revolutionized the thinking of the common man around the world. No longer is it held that the farmer is somehow the tool of his government or that kings are imbued with divine right. Today's American may take for granted the paradigm of individual rights but a quick look at bygone times shows that we are an aberration, a social experiment in which only far-future generations will be able to weigh the value. For now though, we can clearly see that few of those who experience our kind of freedom, ever willingly shackle themselves with despotism again.
And that is what awaits much of the world should America fall victim to a shame of it's own might. Despotism and cultural darkness.
Dissenters inevitably cast the labels of fascism and imperialism upon the United States' polices of intervention. Pure hyperbolic rhetoric I say. They ignore the good, magnify the bad, and go about enjoying the fruits of the land.
So don't wane now, America. This could be your finest hour. For only in the crucible of difficult times will a nation's gold be revealed. Future generations will all observe, as I see it, that America changed the world and they will know beyond all common doubt, that the Land of the Free should never hide from international injustice.
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