bucs90
Gold Member
- Feb 25, 2010
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Can anyone show me where in the U.S. Constitution it says that the U.S. has to be a empire?
Did any of they founding Fathers every say that their goal was for the U.S. to be a World Super Power?
Our stature as a world super power happened as a result of WWII - more of an accident than by design. Once we were in that position, we had to act responsibly.
However, there is no mandate for us to be the world's dominant power.
The only real justification is that if we are not a world dominant power, that means that some other country will dominate us.
The true basis for the continued insistence that we be the world's single dominant power is just the instinctual nature of the wingnuts - they like so many civilizations before that are preprogrammed to dominate - like every other sleazy empire that has every existed. The wingnuts would have us be no different than the Romans.
Questioning the need for us to be a world superpower is the only intelligent thing to do. In fact, the true tradition of America is to be isolationist, not an empire.
We dont have to be, but we became one because of the greatness of this country. We were so successful, that we blossomed into the most powerful nation the world has ever known. Along with that, of course, comes a big ass bulls-eye. Just like in sports. We are the Yankees of baseball, in a global political analogy. People are going to hate us just for being richer, better fed, happier, ect. Along with our success comes military power. And that military power often must fend off evil. Evil against us, but also evil against allies.....because allowing evil to spread and conquer allies will like cancer eventually get to us.
No, no, no. Good god where are you people getting this idea from? A country isn't inherently "great", "good", or "evil". Get this out of your head. Just like the team the Yankees isn't "great", "good" or "evil", its the human agency that instills these arbitrary, constructed moral ideas. The PLAYERS for the yankees are what make the yankees amazing, not their name or because they make more money.
You have it completely backwards. People don't hate us for being richer, or better fed. Why do you think they call it the AMERICAN dream, not the European Dream, or the Russian dream. Everyone aspires to acquire a high standard of living. Our success didn't bring us military power, our military helped bring us success.
And once again, there is no fucking "evil" out there. There are threats to national security that will always be prevalent and hence we need to always look out for OUR interests, not our allies, or anyone else, because we aren't "friends", they aren't "good", the enemy isn't "evil". It's about power, about who is strong, and who is weak.
Hard power (military and economic) is no longer the only or best type of power to be exercised in every situation. Soft power is increasingly becoming important, and that means forging stronger multilateral ties in issues where there are convergence, asserting our national interests where there interests diverge from ours, and finally, shaping these insitutions and their norms so that America continues to shape the international order.
It's become quite obvious to all but the most foolish of observers that a wanton, unilateral use of hard power is no longer as effective as it once was, hence a need to foster our soft power once more.
He's not saying he wants the military to grow weak, what he's saying is that we will always be a target because of our strong military. That is all.
Wow. Some professor did a heck of a brainwash on you. Where to start. So you say our success is because of our military, not vice versa?
Well, lets see, Britain had a far more powerful military than us. We won. Our military has not always been the most powerful. Hell, probably not until after WW2 was it so. Our nation's industrial capability is what built the war machine that stopped the Nazis. Our car companies building military vehicles rather than cars. Our people's sacrifice. France wasn't willing to make such a sacrifice. We were. So, in short, our people, our resources and our success bred that military. We weren't granted military power that seized our success, unlike what your professor told you.
Next, and most important, is you saying there is no evil in the world. If you truly believe this, then you are a lost cause. Simple domestic police actions will show there is a truly and inherently evil streak in man. It's a flaw of humanity. It's why serial killers, child rapists, etc, exist. It's why a few of those humans are also born with the intelligence to take that evil streak into a powerful position and do things like exterminate a race in order to make room for the perfect race, like Hitler did.
There is a quest for power throughout all humanity. That you are right on. However, there is a line most won't cross to gain it. Others will. That is where the evil comes in. If you deny the existence of that evil, you are just ignorant to reality. Beheading those who don't believe in your religion, btw, I would consider evil. Killing those who practice such acts before they get a chance to, imo, would be good. Agree?