Non-Interventionism: "A foreign policy which holds that political rulers should avoid alliances with other nations, and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial self-defense." -Dictionary
Usually when we hear talk of the recent wars and skirmishes we've been in, common words used for their description are: "Fiasco", "Failure", or a "Flop". How many times have we the American people, heard similar phrases such as the ones below, when our latest wars are being described: "Unintended and unexpected consequences...", "Not what was planned...", "Regrettable collateral damage...", and so on. You've heard the rhetoric of our Government. You've heard its excuses.
And America, if you're like me, you look back at World War II and you think "What did we do so right then? What have we been doing now that's so wrong? How did that war unite the nation, and every war since then divide it? How come everyone agrees World War II was necessary, but not so much with every other war we've been involved in since?" These aren't outlandish questions by any stretch. World War II brought Americans together after tough economic depression. It helped us to renew and restore. World War II helped us to recognize once again, who we were and why we were.
But you want to know what made World War II as successful and appropriate as it was? America was in terrible danger. There were enemies who blatantly shouted their hatred for individual liberty, and freedom-loving nations around the world. We Americans were certainly no exception to that hatred. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Nazi submarines terrorizing our seas, the US had every right to defend itself and the liberties it championed. That's what made World War II a just and honorable war. But after that, we became a different people. We no longer fought wars just to defend ourselves. Instead, we became world policeman.
You look at the Korean War or the Vietnam War. You look at the skirmish of Mogadishu, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident. These fights weren't for the defense and preservation of our liberties. Why could we not have let the Vietnamese and Koreans conduct their own wars and other affairs? If chaos had broken out in Korea, America wouldn't have been in any danger. And what about the Mogadishu incident of 1994? For those of you who aren't aware of that incident, it took place in the East African country of Somalia. Civil war and revolution broke out, and had torn that country to tatters. Was it unfortunate? Oh yes absolutely. Should we have it in our hearts to give to charities, helping those Somali families and children? You bet we should! But should we have risked the lives of our soldiers, to try and stop a fight that wasn't ours? Did the Somalian radicals pose any direct threat to us? No.
Their weapons were primitive at best, and food was scarce in that country. They certainly didn't have the means, or even the desire, to harm America. But that didn't stop the US Government from forcing our soldiers to fight a war that wasn't ours to fight. The mission turned out to be disastrous and we took many casualties. Lots of our own soldiers were killed, and you know what? Before our intervention in Somalia, they didn't really care about who we were or what we were up to. We weren't really even a thought in their minds. But as soon as we intervened in a fight that wasn't our business... they not only knew about us, they hated us. So much to the point, that the Somali extremists' whole cause shifted from "Take control of the country." to "Fight the Americans!"
And to this day, Somalia is still a dangerous place for Americans to travel, whereas if we had not intervened, and had just let the conflict play itself out, things might not have been so dangerous. But why am I giving you all this history? Why is it important? Because our past is screaming at us, and it's high-time we listen. And what is it trying to say? It's saying this: Interventionism is killing us! Somewhere along the line, our Government's gotten this idea that since it's so big and powerful, it should go around the world somehow, and solve everybody's problems.
Our world is a very dangerous place though. Dictators and evil regimes are inevitable. And that should break the heart of anyone who is human. But just because it's unfortunate, that doesn't mean we should try and be the world police. Not only does it cost us billions of taxpayer dollars, not only does it increase our debt already at $13 trillion, it's most importantly costing us precious American lives! These American soldiers of ours, have families and they have friends.
They have mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends, they have life-long pets, they have brothers and sisters, and they have best friends. They are people! And they're selfless people, because they have given up their rights and their lives, to defend us and the people they love. That's why the troops do what they do. Ask any of them why they joined, and most of them will tell you, "To serve my country." or "To protect the people I love."
To defend. To help the nation. Do we really want to put their lives in jeopardy, to fight a dictator or regime that isn't of any danger to us? I don't think I'm over the top, when I say that life is sacred! Yet our government deploys our troops left and right to every country that has a problem. Bush was even considering at one point, sending our soldiers into Darfur, Sudan! Why? To stop genocide. Is genocide terrible? You bet it is! But couldn't the Sudanese people handle that themselves? Even if they couldn't, why should we send our soldiers over to try and fix their mess?
Sudan wasn't a danger to us. If we would simply embrace Non-Interventionism, our men and women wouldn't be thrown into so much danger overseas. Because if we reinstated Non-Interventionism like we had in World War II, we would only go to war to defend ourselves, and to preserve our treasured freedoms and liberties. And not only would we be saving the precious lives of our soldiers, but it would also save us billions of dollars, which we could then use to pay off our national debt. Non-Interventionism would put more money in the pockets of Americans also, because our taxes wouldn't be so high for the sake of so much war spending.
If all of our soldiers were right here at home, we wouldn't have to pay the high cost of all these wars, and as a result... the economy would soar and our debt would disappear. Not only this, but another wonderful bright side would be the fact that they are right here at home! At home with their mothers and fathers, at home with their sons and daughters, at home with their spouses, at home with their boyfriends and girlfriends, at home with their friends, etc. And they would only have to go off to war, if we were attacked or in danger. Oh the lives that would be saved! Not just the lives of our soldiers either.
The lives of innocent people in other countries, who die by the thousands, due to honest mistakes and mishaps during wartime. That would end. Non-Interventionism isn't a new concept, and in fact it's one we did have until after World War II. Not only is it not new, other countries have Non-Interventionism established as their foreign policy also. I'll give one as an example: Switzerland has long been known for its policy of defensively-armed neutrality. Which means that unless they're attacked, they don't fight needless wars, or assist others in fighting other wars. The result?
A wonderful economy! In fact, many people from all around the world, bank and invest there. Have you heard of any recent wars in which the Swiss have been involved in? No. Not one. How many Swiss military lives, do you think their policy has saved? Tons! Such is the result of Non-Interventionism. So we see examples of how Non-Interventionism is working wonders for the nations that instate it.
We once had it, but greediness, corruption, and special interest consumed our Government and as a result-- we're now $13 trillion in debt to other nations and organizations, and as a result our taxes are astronomical. We've lost nearly 600,000 military lives, due to our Government trying to world police, and that's not even counting the lives of innocent civilians. As a result, our outstanding servicemen are being killed daily, spouses are crying, parents are miserable, and a friend is lonely. For what? A tribal war that broke out in some unheard-of country? Soldiers want to fight for their families and their loved ones. They want to fight for a cause that affects America. And our foreign policy isn't granting them that.
I'll close with the words of our Founding Fathers, since this blog is named after them. This is what they advised to future American generations:
"Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none." -Thomas Jefferson
"It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances, with any portion of the foreign world." -George Washington in his farewell speech, 1796
Our Government has turned its back on the America we once were, and it's high-time that we the people do something about it.
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