Jay
the fool on the hill
Yes. I am pro U.S. if you could tell. It is my hope that the U.S. can remain powerful for many decades to come and to retain that power I hope our leaders take correct action.
Sounds like Teddy Roosevelt imperialism.
Yes. I am pro U.S. if you could tell. It is my hope that the U.S. can remain powerful for many decades to come and to retain that power I hope our leaders take correct action.
Sounds like Teddy Roosevelt imperialism.
This pretty much solved any internal debate I had over this issue. Thanks, jetsetter!I am fond of the idea of the United States having that kind of power over other countries however I do question who would make the decision in the U.S.
We can't even kill a meter-wide oil well in the ocean, but we think we can kill the internet.
It is in the best interest of the United States to remain on top for as long as possible. To draw down our power, to become isolationist as many have suggested would only lead to degradation and destruction. Many do not realize the role of the United States. The term "policeman" is far to simple to explain how the presence of the U.S. influences the rest of the world. Continued global trade, continued relative peace all hing on the U.S. being as powerful as it is and that it is willing to use the power that it has. In a sense it is a stabilizing force, always there in the minds of the various global leaders. If anything the U.S. should be out there more, not less.
I would like to point out something to viewers of this thread: I listen to right wing radio talk host Rush Limbaugh daily, and this is virtually word for word what he states, also.
C'mon, be original....
Mmmmm carpet-bombing asian countries, invading not one but two muslim countries, shooting down civilian airliners, a real interest in peace that. Your country is so much in debt (to communists even!) that it's only a matter of time until your little house of cards comes down.continued relative peace all hing on the U.S. being as powerful as it is and that it is willing to use the power that it has. In a sense it is a stabilizing force, always there in the minds of the various global leaders. If anything the U.S. should be out there more, not less.
Mmmmm carpet-bombing asian countries, invading not one but two muslim countries, shooting down civilian airliners, a real interest in peace that.
Oh I had one thought - did not the Australians want to turn off the internet for porn?
All they want is to make sure boobs are large enough.
Would it be a national emergency if the internet was not working?
Oh, it could be so so much worse. An increasingly multipolar world is a world with less peace. Of that you can be assured. One only has to take a look at the history books and that is something I have done extensively. The Pax Americana is a very real thing and it is unfortunate that so many will only realize its benefits when its gone.
So the continually degrading situation in the Middle East and Korea is an example of awesome peacekeeping? Interesting! Wrong, but interesting!
Hell, if you look at the history books - specifically American history, in and around the late 1700s - you'll realize that many (some might even argue all) wars have been fought to PREVENT a country from having undue influence over the sovereignty of another. Peace is about compromise, not about one country having undue amounts of power over others.
There has always been, and there will always be, at least one world superpower. If the United States were to abandon its role as superpower, we would not be left with a "share and share alike" world were everybody suddenly respects each other. Instead, another economic and military superpower would arise. Most likely the People's Republic of China, possibly a Putinized Russia. I don't see either country right now as doing a better job than America has done as superpower.
On the other hand, when it reaches the point of inevitability that they're going to succeed us as superpower, we don't do any good by struggling to stay stronger than them. Instead, that leads to economic collapse due to overexertion. See: Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, and the recession Russia has felt ever since. Better to realize once your era has ended and retreat as gracefully as possible. Britain is an example of how to live as a post-superpower nation.
I think the best thing would be for America, as imperfect as we are, to stay a superpower for the time people, making a better effort to play the role well (of course, one must realize that no superpower has ever been some utopian benevolent power that leaves everyone in its wake happy and prosperous. China is continuing to liberalize at a slow but steady pace. Eventually, I think we're going to have to say "gg" to them and gracefully retreat from superpower status, but I don't think it's something that should be done in 2010.