Ms Lib R. Tea Talks Middle East & Foreign Policy
I guess I should start by saying that I am opposed to all US involvement overseas. I don't believe that we should have an embassy in another country, let alone a military base or actual American soldiers there. There is no provision in the Constitution granting the Federal government the right to create these institutions or to fund them with tax dollars-in fact there are many points in the Constitution (not to mention in direct quotes from the Constitution's framers) that seem directly opposed to this idea of globalizing America's troupes and/or politics.Let's start off with some of the framer's takes on foreign policy:
"I am for free commerce with all nations, political connection with none, and little or no diplomatic establishment. I sincerely join...in abjuring all political connection with every foreign power; and though I cordially wish well to the progress of liberty in all nations...commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto." Jefferson, excerpts from several letters, 1799
"It is our true policy to steer clear of entangling alliances with any portion of the foreign world...Act for ourselves and not for others [by forming an] American character wholly free of foreign attachments.” Washington, excerpts from his Farewell Address
It is clear that Jefferson and Washington believed in Non-interventionist foreign policy (not to be confused with isolationism), and that the idea of 'trade with all, entanglements with none' is a cornerstone of America's founding principles.
"Times have changed" people cry. Really? Well, then-if the policies of our government are no longer valid I suppose we can do away with free speech, gun rights, and public trials then as well. It is hypocritical to say "we must change the Constitution, except for the parts I like". It is either the founding legal document of this nation, or it is not. {Spoiler:It is, at least last time I checked.}
It is those Constitutional guidelines that we should be adhering to, and if we're going to do that there are a few things we'd need to get done:
Bring all troupes, military, and government officials out of other countries.
End all undeclared 'wars' (even those by other pseudonyms such as 'peacekeeping'). Keep in mind that the Congress, the only branch of government able to declare and operate a war, has not done so since 1941.
Disband the standing army (Article 1 Section 8 clearly states that armies are to be funded for no more than 2 years).
I can hear you....'disband the standing army?!' Gasp-shock-horror-plotz. Yes. I very much mean that. The entire purpose of the Second Amendment and the clauses regarding Militias is to encourage that Americans own firearms and protect themselves with them. Did you know that if only 25% of Americans owned a weapon, that the number of armed citizens would be almost 11 times the number of people in the largest military in the world? True story. We would be able to protect ourselves just fine in case of an actual invasion.
The last, but in my mind, most important reason to oppose all foreign military action is that as we "spread freedom around the globe" we are tightening the noose on American Liberty at home. The so-called "Patriot Act" was the most unConstitutional piece of legislation that has been introduced in generations. Maybe even ever. Out of coerced fear, Americans have surrendered their natural freedoms to the government and traded them in for a false sense of security....and as the wise Thomas Jefferson said,
"He who would trade liberty for security will soon have none and deserves neither."
This only becomes more and more obvious as our liberties drain, and the government uses fear mongering to gain yet more power over us. They repeat their Newspeak endlessly in an attempt to teach us:
War is Peace...we've murdered more than 100,000 civilians in their homes for "peace"....
Ignorance is Strength...no need to fact check, it's more important to go in with muscles flexed and guns blazing....
If we continue as we are, allowing and even promoting our government's anti-liberty behaviors, it is only a matter of time before we "learn" that Freedom is Slavery, and take that final step into the Orwellian dystopia our Founding Fathers worked so hard to prevent.
War is Peace...we've murdered more than 100,000 civilians in their homes for "peace"....
Ignorance is Strength...no need to fact check, it's more important to go in with muscles flexed and guns blazing....
If we continue as we are, allowing and even promoting our government's anti-liberty behaviors, it is only a matter of time before we "learn" that Freedom is Slavery, and take that final step into the Orwellian dystopia our Founding Fathers worked so hard to prevent.
September 14, 2009 at 9:23 AM
as much as I wish we could turn back the clocks to live everything just as our founding fathers intended, I just don't see how it is possible to truly step out and un-do all that has been done for YEARS.
I also can not imagine the economic destruction that was implode our nation if we deconstructed the military... I get it, double edged sword. Our taxes pay for the military, but what would we do with the thousands of men & women who depend on the military for income (not just talking about our soldiers, either)?
September 14, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Why would you not want our country live Constitutionally if you believe in the Constitution? To accept some parts of the Constitution as gospel, and allow other parts to be ravaged by politicians? Either we are based on the Constitution or we are not. We are, and I prefer we stay that way.
Anyone who is paid with tax dollars is draining the economy. They take money from the American people and do not pay into the system (even though their wages are "taxed" their remaining income is still 100% tax payer paid). Almost no government employees produce tangible goods, but instead trade and produce politics and bureaucracy.
This is not limited to soldiers-I am against anyone being paid by the government be it in the form of welfare, military pay, or any other government job including subsidies and actual vocations like teachers, social workers, road construction workers, etc.
If we discontinued all government jobs, the tax burden on the American people would be significantly lighter. They would be able to then take their money and invest in actual goods and services, which in turn would create legitimate jobs that were constructive to the economy.
September 14, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Additionally, I'm sure we can agree this would be hard on people...however, I'm also sure we can agree that just because doing the right thing is hard doesn't mean you don't have to do it.
September 14, 2009 at 5:12 PM
I think hard is an understatement. I do wish we could live completely constitutionally, however, I can not imagine how many people that would leave jobless and then what? Some people, particularly soldiers (the "grunts", if you will) are trained to do one thing... be soldiers. Does our govt, before taking away their jobs, train them to be something else? Or do we throw them out with a "good luck"? (I'm thinking of my brother here, who depends on his tiny wages to support his family)
Believe me, I hate the idea of picking and choosing what in the constitution should stand and what should be amended. It doesn't feel right and it makes arguments that "this isn't constitutional" hard to defend if we allow things that very clearly aren't.
However, I just don't know how you turn back the clocks on all of these things without some major ramifications.
Yes, probably for you or I, if we weren't paying taxes, we would save a fortune each year. (although, my husband has a city job, so I don't know how he would fair either...) But, those with govt jobs would have nothing.
I absolutely agree that the govt needs to be WAY smaller and that if there is to be a tax, that it should be a FAIR tax.
September 16, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Any government job that serves a legitimate purpose would have positions available in the free market. If there was no more army,ex-soldiers could get jobs as private sector security. If there were no more public school, ex-teachers could get jobs as tutors, or at private schools.
Roads still need paving, children still need to learn, people still want to be protected. Taking away these government run positions would create legitimate jobs in the private sector, ready to be filled by trained personnel-so long as the job addressed an actual need and was not just government busy work.