Clinton Aide Harold Ickes Unafraid to Call In Old Chits Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Ickes' son is a major strategist in Hillary Clinton's campaign.
America's Role as the First, Only, and Last Truly Global Superpower Global Research In Zbigniew Brzezinski’s "The Grand Chessboard," he outlines his case for how current American global supremacy should be used to further a long running elite plan for the unification of the world under the dictates of the United Nations.
Only in America The Economist America's particularities will survive George Bush.
Fears That U.S. Is Heading Toward Isolationism Australian Broadcasting Corp. Many outside the United States fear we're witnessing the dawn of a new era of isolationism.
May 14, 2008
What does America owe the rest of the world?
If you think that's a fraught question now, imagine the dimensions it took on in 1941, when most of Europe had been overrun by Hitler, England was hanging on for dear life, and the United States, ever wary of foreign entanglements, had yet to commit itself.
Pearl Harbor would seal the issue some months later, but the real turning point came on May 18, 1941. That's when Interior Secretary Harold Ickes delivered his speech "What Constitutes An American?"
Ickes was one of the chief architects of Roosevelt's New Deal and a big thinker. Perhaps his boldest move was proposing in 1938 that Alaska be made a homeland for oppressed European Jews (an idea that forms the basis for Michael Chabon's alternative history in The Yiddish Policeman's Union.)
Ickes was also a persuasive speaker and writer, as he demonsrated with his speech at an "I Am An American" rally in New York's Central Park. Aiming a rhetorical dart at isolationists who continued to insist that America was right to steer clear of foreign intervention, Ickes eloquently argued that our professed reverence for liberty was meaningless if the country lacked the courage and conviction to defend freedom elsewhere.
The entire speech is well worth reading, but several passages stand out:
What constitutes an American? Not color nor race nor religion. Not the pedigree of his family nor the place of his birth. Not the coincidence of his citizenship. Not his social status nor his bank account. Not his trade nor his profession. An American is one who loves justice and believes in the dignity of man. An American is one who will fight for his freedom and that of his neighbor. An American is one who will sacrifice property, ease and security in order that he and his children may retain the rights of free men. An American is one in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence.
And:
A perpetually militarized, isolated and impoverished America is not the America that our fathers came here to build.
It is not the America that has been the dream and the hope of countless generations in all parts of the world.
It is not the America that one hundred and thirty million of us would care to live in.
In 1941, that translated into a moral obligation to directly confront Hitler, whose concentration camps were already public knowledge and aims toward the American continent were becoming increasingly clear.
And what of today, when the goals, techniques and very identity of our enemies are more amorphous and the end results of American intervention are far from clear? Do we still owe it to the world and our progeny to oppose tyranny wherever it is practiced? Given the breadth and depth of tyranny in the world, how do we pick our battles? And what does constitute an American in a time where few us have to make any direct sacrifices for the good of the country and barely half of us can be bothered to vote?
Isolationism Versus Non-Interventionism The Honor of God Brian Saint-Paul speaks with Dr. Thomas Woods Jr. about isolationism, non-interventionism, the foreign policy of the Founders, and how we got where we are today.
Indecision or Isolationism Election 2008 Americans, while voicing clear domestic priorities, are unsure about the direction foreign policy should take after Bush.
Harold Ickes House Available Again Society of St. Barbara Harold Ickes' house in Winnetka is up for grabs for just a bit over $6 million.
Should America be more or less involved in foreign affairs?
8% 71% 21%
This article puts several quotes in my head. Not all of them are by Americans but they are all relevant to the topic at hand:
“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny imposed upon the mind of man.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Democracy should begin at home.” – Alice Paul
“When we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?” – Sir Robert Bolt
“If you would change the world, begin with yourself.” – my father
As an immigrant to this country at age ten who served in the Marines (while still a British citizen) and now a naturalized American citizen, I think I can say what an American is (or at least what I hope an American is)
I have the freedom to be who I want to be. My heritage is not my prison that dictates how I should act and what I will believe. I can choose who I'll be, who I'll become. I can choose my own destiny. I want that right for all my fellow Americans.
I can enjoy eating all ethnic foods without being branded a "traitor" to my own ethnic origins. I can adopt any way of life I want because I can. I don't have to be an Irish-American (which I technical am) or keep any British traditions (which I don't). I can be who I want to be. When I became an American, I adopted this country's history as my own. I am as much a descendant of the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) as any one born here.
My children who are all those things that I am, as well as Scotts-Irish and Swedish (on the mother's side), are also Americans, (born here) who have chosen to be who they what to be. I encourage them to explore what it means to be an American.
I don't think of myself as anything other than an American. I am not a hyphenated American either. I reject being classified as Irish-American, Anglo-American, British-American, or a white-American. I am an American. period!
I will defend your right to be whatever you want to be, too.
Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.
Gore Vidal
US author & dramatist (1925 - )
MACKDADDY1 said...
"Passion has helped us, but can do so no more. It will in future, be our cause for enemy. Reason: cold, calculating, impassionate reason, must furnish all the material for our future support and defense. "
Abe Lincoln (1842)
Unfortunately, I think this quote sums things up quite appropriately.
As I see the poll change in its percentages, I am also reminded of this one:
“We prefer our own bad government to the good government of an alien power.” – Mahatma Gandhi
WireDawg13 said...
Being an American is an idea, a dream and a hope. This is something that our forefathers and all who have followed them were willing to sacrifice all they had to ensure that their children and their children’s children would have the ability to become and be whatever they wanted to be. However, I feel that we have forgotten that with the freedom to make those choices we have to also pay the price for those freedoms. For with great freedoms come even greater responsibilities. Sadly our nation appears to be full of people that want only the freedoms without taking the responsibilities of those freedoms, thinking someone else will take care of it. Either they don’t understand or don’t care. If one forgets ones responsibilities, they will wake up one day and discover those freedoms they enjoy will be taken from them. I think being American is taking those responsibilities to heart. When I left the US Air Force in 2002 one of my Sergeants told me something that has stuck with me since the day he said it. “You may no longer wear a uniform but that doesn’t mean you can’t serve in some other way, the trick is finding the way you can serve.” John Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country”. As for the enemies of America and how we should handle them, I think General Patton said it best. “No SOB ever saved his country by dying for it; he made the other poor bastard die for his.” I think Teddy Roosevelt had a pretty good solution on how we are to handle foreign policy, “Walk quietly and carry a big stick”
We don't seem able to oppose tyranny in our own country, judging by the recent administration. Wagging our fingers at others seems to smack of hypocricy, especially when we're so willing to violate our own constitution. Personally, I don't consider myself an American. I hold passports from the USA and Italy, and would rather label myself a Global Citizen than subscribe to any nationalist dogma. When traveling, my pat answer when someone asks if I'm an American is that I own a residence in the United States. And I use the Italian passport exclusively once I am outside US territory. I get a much warmer welcome that way.
Thomas Jefferson said the "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance". We have taken a wrong turn when we are more concerned about the "freedom" of the Iraqi people. To ensure their freedom we have created for ourselves the Patriot Act. This act pretends to protect our freedom by taking it away.
Perhaps we should paraphrase Jefferson by saying "the price of freedom is the Patriot Act".
Jefferson said something else that is equally important today. He said "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them".
What would Jefferson think of the so-called "Patriot Act", or the "New Deal", or any of the welfare-entitlements, or the mortgage crisis bail out? Where does person responsibility end and "providing for the welfare of the people" begin?
I'd like to hear Jefferson's thoughts on those topics. Well, we already have (see quote above).
The government should provide for the defense of the country, provide a judicial system, provide for a decent education, maintain the infrastructure, and do it all with a balanced and limited budget.
Now as to the "Patriot Act". We already have one. It's called the Constitution. I wonder how many people have heard of it, let alone read it? This was written by the greatest patriots in history.
John Kennedy said we should go to any extreme in the defense of liberty......we have not done so in this war against the terrorists. I wonder how Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Kennedy would have dealt with the terrorists?
To: LaDonna: I've always liked Gore Vidal's quote, but I wonder about the other half who did vote for a president. What newspapers were they reading?
Tony D said...
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
Benjamin Franklin ( I think, although not entirely sure.)
Nordo said...
As a former soldier myself, I have always considered the Commander in Chief's single most important tool to be the prudent but effective use of his military forces. A balancing act that has been rather unstable as of late. As one looks around the world, from Darfur to North Korea to Afghanistan there are several examples of important events that have required involvement and commitment of U.S. forces.
What is NOT in our President's purview is the use of military force for socio-political purpose. Our aim and intent must be clear and without waver. The support for the operation in macro and micro terms cannot be done "on the cheap". Sadly, Iraq was, is and will continue to be the manifestation of bad policy in nearly every measurable way.
I would be very curious to know what Mr. Ickes would think of our current state of affairs if he were with us today.
The first exerpt from his speech, although very nice, it represents America in a fairy tale land or maybe just America in 1941. Today American's don't really practice what they preach... maybe Mr. Ickes words linger in the far back corner of America's mind but America in general is not to concerned. We focus on what benefits us (individually) the best and how can we make more money doing it. America has become (among other things) a land of every man, woman and child for himself. We are so lost as a country, the world views us as morons with lots of money and too much power. After September 11th we possibly caught a brief glimpse of what it is to be an American, everyone pulled together, helped out, donated, conserved, prayed and even swung their flags high on their front porches.... of course like all things American, it faded quickly, the flags were taken down and patriotism was seemingly know more. We now are left with a weak economy, a president that thinks 2+2= chair, energy prices screaming towards all record highs, crippling gas prices, a health care system that reflects that of a 3rd world country (I actually take that one back, Cuba has better healthcare than us) and a society that can only seem to agree on one thing we don't want higher taxes... A favorite quote of mine says, "We are not free, until all of us are." We have a lot of clean and repairs to do in this country before we can ever go back to what America once was. We have to learn ourselves what it means to be American before we go around preaching it to the rest of the world.
To Nordo:
You've raised an interest point about the proper use of the military.
We seem to be stuck between a version of the "prime directive (from Star trek) which said "don't interfer" and actually interfering. As a former soldier (marine) I look at Afghanistan and say "yes". Attacking therm was necessay. I look at Iraq and wonder if any one in the White House had read a history book on the area. A quick read of Lawrence of Arabia's introduction to his Seven Pillars of Wisdom would have been enough for me to stay out of a tribal and ethnic conflict. We seem to have destabilized the balance of power in the area and given Iran a heads-up to engage in any adventure they like. Of course, we've managed to put ourselves into the middle of an ancient conflict made only worse after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I.
I see other situations that called for a national debate on the use of our military. How about toppling the madmen who control Burma? Should we sit back and allow hundreds of thousands possibly milliions of people to die after a natural disaster because a few nutcases think more of staying in power than accepting help for their suffering people?
But then again we seem unable to defend our own borders from illegals and cannot respond for our own people after Katrina. Perhaps we should stay home for a while and and practice before go out to save the world.
Ok, how about this one.....
"This is the greatest country in the world, if we just steel our wills and lose our minds." - Bill Clinton
In my mind and heart, being an American is a precious gift that comes with “inalienable rights” and freedoms, that have been entrusted to us by all those generations that preceded us, who dreamed of it, worked toward it, and struggled or died for its ideals.
Being an American also bears the obligation for us to exercise our rights, our freedoms and fulfill our responsibilities of citizenship. It is to protect, enhance and be willing to make the same sacrifices to continue these dreams and ideals as those who enabled us to Americans in the first place, so that we too can pass on this precious gift and responsibility to the generations that follow.
The world has become way to small and the interdependencies that now exist between nations to strong for almost any type of isolationism.
I would hope that we would always protect our borders, our way of life, and always come to the aid of our citizens, our allies and/or those who seek our help. I would hope that our goal is for America and it’s ideals to become a shining example, a ray of hope for those who wish it and need it. I am proud of being an American citizen. I hope we never take it for granted, ever be content with it, nor ever become arrogant about it.
Thanks for all the thought-provoking posts everyone. It’s “good cause for pause”.
Spinner said...
I have hesitated to enter into this discussion because my feelings have been influenced by yesterday's vote in WVa. Hillary is proud to have won because of the vote from the "uneducated" and racists (20% actually admitted voting for Hillary because of racist feelings. Wonder what the real count was there..). Thomas Jefferson said that this form of government would only work if the educated minority controlled. If the uneducated majority got in control, it would fail. To me this means that, rather than only let the college graduates vote, if we plan to fully participate in the workings of this fine country and continue to build upon the grand experiment that is America, working to see it rise to its fullest potential, we all have a responsibility to see that we gain the education to make the the most responsible decisions for our own lives as well as the life of America. DreadPirateRoberts' father was quite correct. If you would change the world start with yourself. This freedom does indeed come with obligations and one of the largest is the obligation to participate by educating yourself, not only for your own wellbeing, but for the wellbeing of society as a whole. I think we have recently been shown just what we get when we vote into office those that appeal to a lower standard.
Hope I haven't stepped on any toes here, but that is why I hesitated to say anything at all.
Spinner said...
Oops.. My husband tells me that it was not Thomas Jefferson that I quoted, but "some French guy" in response to Jefferson. So I apologize because I don't like to quote when I don't know whom I am quoting.
To: Spinner:
You haven't stepped on my toes........I watched Hillary's "victory speech" after her win in West Virginia. She basically asked the people who voted for her to carry her to the nomination.
Jefferson probably saw the problem with a democracy by an uneducated mob. He was in Paris at the beinning of the French Revolution. an "American" revolution it was not.
Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar has two qoutes of interest:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood, leads to fortune. Uncomitted, all the voyage of life is bound in shallows and in miseries."
"We must take the current when it serves or lose our venture."
The quotes might be on the negative side, but it is fair warning to be vigilant and act. We can not sit idle and wait for a "savior" to show us a better way, we must take the responsibility ourselves.
The foundation of responsible actions is education. The end of a liberal arts/classical education seems to have left us with few people who can reason and choose wisely. The people of West Virginia who voted for Hillary are not well-read people with broad interests. Unless you call reading campaign posters and knowing the differnce between balck and white candidates being well-read and having broad interests.
Now, I've stepped on more than a few toes, I've stepped on the soul of ignorance. And if the soul ignorance was a body of water, I doubt I'd get my feet wet.
To Spinner, no need to hesitate, you always have good thoughts.
I think the 'french guy" has it wrong. If you only have an educated minority, you are going to have an elitist goverment, one that "knows what's good or bad for you and me. I personally don't want that. A demoracy needs an educated population. Currently, our failings can be traced to our educational system. History is not high on the list of important subjects anymore, so we are doomed to repeat it. Since history has been negelected in our schools, students have no idea of what being an American is all about.
To Expat,
you are always 30 seconds ahead of me.
To: Mr Peterman,
Thanks. I think someone once said that "great minds think alike".
semper fi
ExPat
Spinner, I appreciate your message and the way you expressed it.
I wonder if the world would hate us less, or more, if we stopped giving money and humanitarian aid to other nations. America is always being accused of "meddling" in other nation's affairs. So, fine. Let's try not giving anybody anything for a couple years. No money for Israel. No money for AIDS in Africa. No humanitarian aid every time some other country has a cyclone, earthquake or meltdown. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more foreign students admitted to American universities, (sorry China, sorry India, go learn at your own colleges.) Let's "beware of entangling alliances" and take a "sick day" for being the world's police force and protector.
rings90 said...
What does America Owe the rest of the world? Wow Mr. Peterman what a Great Final Essay Question for a History Class.
I wonder how today's young adults would answer & how many of their answers would reflect all of ours?
I'm not sure what makes an American ~ I'm not sure what America should or should not get involved in overseas.
I do feel we need to protect our country & its values but it also seems that everytime I turn around the values I thought we all had seem to be no longer considered as values but just an out dated opinion of the past.
I'm more inclined to agree with Teddy Roosevelts tread lightly & carry a big stick philosphy more & more. I do feel that Wilson & FDR also tried to adhere to those ideals in with trying to decide America's involvement in WW's I & II & that it was possibly the smartest decisions overall.
Shannon said...
Mr. Peterman ~ I daresay you've more made a statement than posed questions, in posing your questions.
I find this one of particular gravitas:
"Given the breadth and depth of tyranny in the world, how do we pick our battles?"
I would pose some counter-questions, if I may:
Who should answer this question? If that person is our president, is our electoral system set up such that the person who becomes president is ultimately the one whom the nation feels can and will speak for all Americans - black, white, educated, ignorant, rich, poor? If so, would a sane person seek such a job?
Alas, I daresay I have more made a statement in posing my counter-questions, than posed counter questions.
Spearfish, I share your frustration and really do dislike the way we are depicted outside of our borders. Although the idea of taking our toys and going home would probably feel pretty good to me too for at an instant too, I'm afraid our ability to wave that big stick and have the desired effect are long gone.
Heck, China would probably just go ahead and buy our universities, India would stop meeting our software engineering needs, and since so much of our manufacturing capabilities required to meet our manufacturing needs no longer reside within our under-secured borders I think we may have to hold back a bit on that one. Oh yea, and that pesky oil thing is still an issue. Besides, who wants the tail to be wagging our dog.
Besides, I think if we did stop trying to help police the world for just a day, America would sneeze and then everyone would get pneumonia.
Be well
oops, sorry about that extra "besides" in my rant.
Spearfish:
Our medical schools would be empty if you decided to exclude Indian and Chinese students. Very few American students are capable of passing the entrance exams, by unfortunately, and if we have to start dumbing down the criteria you can imagine the future state of healthcare. And let us not forget that should China decide to call due all the loans they've made the US, we'd have the first episode in history of an entire country being in foreclosure.
What does America owe the rest of the world?
To keep our word once it is given.
To refrain from coercian, either by force of fraud, except when our hand is forced by others having initiated such coercian.
To pay our debts.
To adhere to our own Constitution and set an example to other fledgling nations of how this is done. Failing this, to reclaim such integrity once it is lost.
When I was a child, I asked my father if war was the worst occurance in the world. He replied that it was the second worst. The worst was (in words that I would later find out came from George Orwell) "a boot stamping on a human face forever." It is sad that, sometimes, the second worst occurance is needed to prevent the worst.
America owes the rest of the world its sacred promise never to become that boot. And while it does not OWE the world support should such a boot arise, providing that support would still be a good idea.
Nordo said...
To ExPat,
Bravo, sir. And thank-you for your service to our country.
To: One Doc:
I'm in real estate......if the country goes into foreclosure I'll try my best to get the listing and sell it someone that will let us lease it back. Maybe Canada or France. (just joking)
To; DreadPirateRoberts:
Your father was right. A Founding Father had it right, too, when he said if we don't hang together we'll all hang seperately. But be hanged we surely will. Sometimes you have no choice but to fight and fight to to the finish. The Germans and the Japanese have no further military ambitions after their almost complete destruction in WW II.
To: Nordo:
Thanks for the "Bravo". And THANK YOU for your service to our great country!