Foreign Policy

Bread and circuses. That was the Roman emperors formula for staying in power. Keep the people entertained and fed and you can pretty much do whatever you want. Things have not changed.

We now have something we call democracy, but it is actually a circus. We have two very powerful factions who are constantly putting on shows in the media, keeping people entertained and attempting to sway them to their own side, not that it will do the people any good, put it will put a stamp of approval on the dominate faction allowing them to justify whatever strikes their fancy.

When I was in high school, I had a government teacher who encouraged us to dig into the issues that were currently being discussed, find out the truth of the matter. Recently I have come to the view this as pointless. The more you dig, the more complex the issue, the less clear the solution, and the worst part is there is no bottom. You can devote your entire life a single issue and never get it resolved. Combine this with the endless number of political issues, and the business of trying to survive, never mind trying to live a little, and there just is not enough time. So I try and filter most of it out, sign up with one faction and hope for the best. And then I write these little missives that might influence a few people.

Foreign policy, like any other government issue, is decided by those who care enough to get involved, and how many allies they can attract to your side. If you can keep the masses distracted with some kind of side show, you can keep most people from even thinking about what you are doing. The thing that puzzles me is how did we make so many really bad foreign policy decisions? At least they look that way to me now, though I have been suspicious of this for a while. There was one movie I saw about American involvement in South America and there was some diplomat babbling about "our way of life", and I thought, what (the blank) is the matter with this guy? "Our way of life"? That is what indigenous peoples complain about when the white man shows up with his 7-11's. I thought America was about Truth and Justice and Freedom, not about whether we danced on Saturday or went to church on Sunday. If this is what the State Department is thinking, no wonder we have so much trouble with other countries.

The other problem was probably the red scare, exemplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator Joe would not have gotten so far if there were not a lot of people who thought there was a real problem with the red menace, and I have to admit, Stalin was one scary S.O.B. So for the last 60 years we have been fighting the communist menace, and unwittingly, or deliberately, plowing fertile ground for the communists. We support these vicious third world dictators because they claim to be anti-communist, but their ruination of their countries and their growing impoverished masses provide a perfect opportunity for a communist revolution.

My suggestion at this point is to eliminate all foreign aid except education. People who do not understand machinery do not need tractors that break down. Countries that have starving masses of people do not need medicine that cures disease.