Hi ahhaha; Re: " You can parade around acting like an American, but you ain't one." You have no idea how pissed off you just made me. But after 60 seconds, I'm calmer now. But what's the point of accusing me of not being American? Our disagreement is one of whether the United States should be isolationist or globalist, and I am hardly the first American to hold the isolationist view point. I'd like you to publicly retract the above statement, but since you are no doubt equally pissed off, you don't have to do it right away.
But let's go back and take a good look at those phrases you listed, and examine exactly how they would apply to the current situation:
Re: Don't Tread On Me. Here's a link:
It features a rattlesnake above the warning, "DON'T TREAD ON ME". The rattle snake had become a traditional symbol of the American Colonies. The most obvious reason for this is that the rattlesnake was only found in the American Colonies and nowhere else in the world. The origin of the slogan (Don't Tread On Me) pertains to the snakes deadly strike and the idea that it is best generally when left alone.
ultimateflags.com
I suppose you're going to claim that rattlesnakes are actually a form of bird that likes to keep its potential enemies in close observation.
Re: Walk softly, but carry a big stick
Teddy Roosevelt was one of the greatest President's the United States has ever had, and the above (or "Speak softly and carry a big stick") was his motto. He believed in having a strong military, as do I. In fact, does anyone want to argue that the United States military is second to any other country's? Anyone who has been watching world events over the last 20 years can't doubt that the U.S. military is second to none. We have the "big stick". We have achieved Roosevelt's dream.
But about that "walk softly". Here's a link to a short history of Teddy Roosevelt, with the foreign affairs part quoted, and my emphasis in bold:
Roosevelt worked to make the U.S. a world leader. His foreign policy was expressed as: "Speak softly and carry a big stick." In January 1903 Great Britain, Germany, and Italy declared a blockade of the ports of Venezuela for the purpose of collecting debts owed to their citizens. They proposed to seize the customhouses and pay themselves out of the taxes as they collected them. Roosevelt declared that such action was a violation of the Monroe Doctrine and brought pressure upon Germany and the other nations to arbitrate the claims before the Court of Arbitration at the Hague.
Foreign creditors threatened to intervene in the affairs of the Dominican Republic. Apparently at Roosevelt's suggestion, in 1905, the president of the Dominican Republic asked the U.S. to take charge of the collection of customs. An American financial expert remained in charge of the treasury until the debts were paid.
The Alaska boundary dispute with Canada was adjusted during 1903. The eastern boundary of the "panhandle" had been in question since 1825 when Russia concluded a treaty with England. Roosevelt said that he was willing to submit to an arbitration before a special court of 6 members, 3 to be appointed by him and 3 by the British government. The U.S. was given a strip of coast line along the west border of British Columbia. The award was accepted by both governments and the dispute was thus settled peaceably.
The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty had cleared the way for an American canal across the Isthmus of Panama. It was followed in 1903 by a treaty with Colombia granting the right to build the canal. The Colombian Senate rejected the treaty. Especially alarmed by Colombia's action were members of the French Panama Canal Company who would lose 40 million dollars if they did not sell their rights to the U.S. before their franchise expired in 1904. Using a revolutionist, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, as their agent, they planned a rebellion to free the state of Panama from Colombia. Roosevelt ordered U.S. naval vessels to keep any hostile forces off the isthmus and to prevent the Colombian troops at Colon from proceeding to Panama City. He explained that he wanted to avoid bloodshed and that the U.S. was bound by treaty to keep the isthmian railroad open. Secretary of State John Hay formally recognized the Republic of Panama, and a few days later the new republic gave the U.S. control of a 10-mile-wide strip across the isthmus. Colombia charged that Roosevelt violated neutrality by aiding Panama's revolution. It requested, and in 1921 received, an indemnity from the U.S.
In September 1905, Roosevelt brought about a peace conference between warring Russia and Japan. The conference was held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For this service he became the first U.S. citizen to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
In 1906, when France and Germany were ready to fight over their interests in Morocco, Roosevelt took the lead in arranging a conference of the powers in Algeciras, Spain. This meeting temporarily settled the differences.
Roosevelt was active in planning the Second Hague Peace Conference, where representatives from 44 countries adopted rules governing arbitration. One dispute settled by the Permanent Court of Arbitration concerned the rights of U.S. fishermen in Canadian waters (1910). It was settled in favor of the U.S.
When Secretary of State John Hay died in 1905 he was succeeded by Elihu Root, who had been the secretary of war. Root in 1908 negotiated the Root-Takahira agreement, in which the U.S. and Japan agreed to respect each other's territorial possessions in the Pacific and to support Chinese independence and the "open-door policy."
U.S. prestige was further helped by strengthening the Army and Navy. Roosevelt pushed Congress hard to get an appropriation for 2 new battleships a year, and he kept the fleet highly efficient. In 1907 he sent 16 battleships on a cruise around the world at a moment when relations between Japan and the U.S. were strained because of anti-Japanese agitation in California and in Congress--he always regarded it as one of his most important contributions to world peace.
umkc.edu
Do you want me to find you a link showing exactly what those 16 battleships did when they went around the world? Do you suppose they sailed uninvited just off the coast of Japan and collected information about their military readiness? Is that what you would call "Walking softly?" Wouldn't it have been wiser instead of sending them on a world cruise (where they'd be far away from where they were needed in the event of war with Japan), to put them on full war alert and station them just off the coast of Japan so they could strike first, like a rattlesnake?
No Roosevelt's slogan was to not piss off other countries unnecessarily, but have enough of a military that when push came to shove, you would win. And in the Panama case, his application of U.S. force was so overwhelming that there was no need for great bloodshed Roosevelt would have approved (as I did) of the way the Iraq war was run. I love his foreign policies, and I wish he were running the show today. I think he'd apologize to China, agree to not antagonize them with military equipment (maybe in return for some face saving gesture), and he'd make sure that the U.S. military continues to be second to none.
The United States' history is dominated by isolationism, and your slogans support this. Roosevelt's foreign affairs were so peaceful that he was awared a Nobel peace prize. Don't Tread on Me dates to a time when the United States saw itself as just wanting to be left alone. The only period where the United States has not been isolationist is WW1, and WW2 and later.
Republicans, traditionally the party of business, are traditionally isolationist. Naturally, that changes during war time, and after the end of WW2 the Cold War kept the Republicans away from isolationism for 50 years. But the cold war is over now, we won, and I want to return to true peace. I want us to walk softly and carry a big stick.
-- Carl |
