320 Years of History
Gold Member
Let's also remember Washington warned us about getting entangled in foreign matters. That was wise advice that is now totally ignored.That's why they called him the Modern Cincinnatus and George III openly admired him when he stepped down.So did the people of Germany during Uncle 'Dolf's rise to power.... You forget the people voted.......
So did the people of Iraq. So did the people of Libya. So did the people of the USSR.
That's correct. Washington understood the inherent danger in one man coveting too much power. Do you disagree?
Let's also remember Washington warned us about getting entangled in foreign matters. That was wise advice that is now totally ignored.
Indeed, speaking on the spirit of party he said this:
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.
Wise advice that is totally ignored.
"Advice" being the operative word....What Washington offered was none of the following:
- Edict
- Proscription or law
- Demand
- Universal
Now the U.S. is, for all intents and purposes, "the" dominant player on the world political stage. Avoiding foreign entanglements is something we can legitimately do on far fewer occasions than we could or should have done in the 18th and 19th centuries. Times change. Sometimes, what was good advice "yesterday" isn't as germane "next week."