America is a very new country to the world. Still in our infancy compared to some countries, we have already forgotten where we came from. No, not the actual places, for those would be too numerous to count. America comes from her founding fathers and their ideals driven by great philosophic thinkers and leaders from Greco-Roman times. One such ideal was the belief in isolationism or that America was not ready for global trade and confrontation. This was due at the time to a small navy and as the nation was just being created allowed for peace abroad. After all, what more protection do you need than a huge ocean that takes months to cross.
However, eventually we grew up and started to gain a little strength. Americans saw opportunities abroad and worked to open trade deals and gain allies. Out of our protective cocoon we arrived on the world stage in small batches. Then with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 then President James Monroe sent a message to the European powers stating that European involvement in politics in the Americas is a potential hostile act against the U.S. This would be the first of several doctrines all believing America had to dominate the America’s and halt European intervention on both American Continents. For our arrival on the world stage these were all good things. Opening up for trade allowed for many new foods and products to be exported and imported. However, at that time, the majority of goods were being exported and our tariffs were very high on foreign goods. This is a situation which put the U.S. ahead of their competitors and gave us an advantage on the world.
Unfortunately, things are very different now than they used to be. Our country is spread out over the world playing policeman trying to stop the rampant killing. We give one-sided deals to help other nations, but hurt ourselves in the process. What good is a modern world that is at peace if it comes at the expense of American living conditions and our government’s budget? America cannot keep funding weak allies or stay in countries that our presence is not needed. The detractors this election season say that the world needs us involved. Well for the past 50 odd years they have had us plenty involved. I think it has reached the time for us to pull back within our borders. Close down unnecessary military bases quit spending on protecting allies that do not either need help or are in no immediate danger. Our agreements with NATO need rearranged so that the load of each operation monetarily and man power wise is equal. This extends to our trade deals around the world and other unfair situations in which the U.S. is stuck.
Many say this ideal is dead and that we need to be involved in the world constantly. I disagree, we have seen how our time out and about in the world has gone. Now it is time to let the other countries duke it out. As stated in the beginning, America is a very young country; these other countries and their issues have existed without our babysitting. It is time to quit trying to find the American solution for their problems and allow places like Afghanistan to level themselves out. Stability of some sort supported by a nation's people is better than false security and promises of democracy that some may not even want. Many other countries would welcome our withdraw into our borders and it could actually have positive diplomatic effects. It is still possible to be a political power in the world and not a physical one. This is what our forefathers understood and something we do not. Sometimes the greatest threat is the proposition of military force not the actual use of it.
