Nation Building

We all cherish our freedoms in this country, after all it is one of the main reasons that so many people immigrate here, and so it is only natural that we would want to give that experience to everyone else in the world. It makes since, if we have likeminded trading partners and allies it could only benefit us as a country, economically and militarily. The problem is that the United States is bad at nation building; in fact you could say we are downright terrible at it.

After World War II, the European countries where left in ruins and only the United States and The Soviet Union where left as major players and both countries where as opposite as they could be. Since at right war was out of the question each country tried to convert other countries to its cause. The end result was conflict after conflict, from Korea to Vietnam, the skirmish created turmoil for both sides. Even though the United States eventually would win out, this nation building only created new enemies for U.S.

Today the Bush administration is continuing in the long line of failures with Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Sadam Husain was given power, in the form of weapons by the United States to fight the Ayatollah Khomeini, who ironically enough came into power after over taking a corrupt government backed and implement by the US. Now yet again we are in the process of installing a new government to help prevent terrorism in the region, (if you don’t believe that it’s not just for oil), and again ironically enough to stop terrorist that where created by US nation building.

With the Presidential race heating up this is a huge topic on what to do with Iraq. We can’t make the past mistakes, not another Vietnam, Grenada or Haiti. We need our Government to take in these mistakes examine what went wrong and get past it bi-partisan nature, to find a real solution not just for the American people or our troops in Iraq, but for the people of Iraq whose countries we invaded and turned upside down.

That's why they'er called ILLEGAL

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We are a nation of immigrants, that being said we are also a nation that has established its own Identity and become one of the elite super powers in the world. It is an honor and privilege to live here and is seen as such by many all over the world, but there is a process to emigrate here, and this should be respected by all.

There is a reason that the term illegal is tagged to the term illegal immigrant, and that is because it is an unlawful entry into a nation. Illegal immigration is the same manner as a robber breaking into a house, and one could argue that an immigrant does steal jobs and what little social services that our country provides. As far as the term illegal is concerned you don’t need to commit a capital offence to commit an illegal act, jaywalking is illegal, boot legging is illegal, it’s all going against a law that has been established by a country. There is due process and procedures to immigration and these laws should be followed by anyone, and not doing so belittles the efforts of people who spend years even decades in their own nation, many of which are war torn and very impoverished, waiting to come and begin a new life here in the United States.

Our boarders should be tougher, not just to stop migrant workers, but to stop anyone with ill intentions. We have all seen that there are people and nations who don’t like the United States, and we should have secure borders to help protect ourselves from them more so than the other illegal immigrants.

Who is to blame?

The United States government is a slow nonreactive behemoth, ill-equipped to deal with the issues of modern life. Our technological advancement is growing at an outrageous rate and knowledge and information is more shared and wide spread than ever before and yet our government, created three centuries ago, is trying to keep pace. The reality is that it can’t.

Issues from the economy to the environment are stacking up, and yet our politicians are arguing more about the President giving the Dali-lama an award or the validity of ancient cultures more than checking the oval office or finding a solution on how to save a healthcare bill that would protect millions of uninsured children. The question is; where does the problem lie? Is there an inherent flaw in the system or do we look to ourselves as the culprits?

The system itself is flawed and to say that there is some perfect government is irrational. The problem may rest in the shear mass of the federal system. Do we really need 437 people in the House of Representatives? More isn’t necessarily better and they don’t always represent their constituents as they should. Perhaps there should be some way of telling our politicians what we feel as a nation should be the priorities. If the people think that a decree that water is better than Gatorade then so be it but it should be something that the people want. The fact that the government is more concerned with a nation on the verge of civil war on the other side of the planet more than me paying into a bankrupted Social Security is very concerning to me, and no one is there to hear my outcry, or act on it when they do.

I think there real issue should be placed on us. We did elected a man who makes up words to president 2000 but we as a nation did elect this same man to stay in office. The American people hold the most power in the entire county but as a majority chose not to use it. We as a society are vastly uneducated on the topics when it comes time to vote and apathetic do so as whole because of a broken system. Maybe we need to hit rock bottom before we can wake up and take action. Maybe in some sad way we like the comedy that is produced off an ignorant person as our leader. But maybe there will be a grassroots movement to educate the population on just who holds the power. Maybe the system that has worked for this long will continue forever, and in a time of great peril come to the rescue of its people, and those in charge will finally tackle the issues that plague its citizens and not its special interest.