While we’re on the topic of the president’s ineptitude in all matters presidential, the question of “foreign policy” deserves a modicum of consideration. We appear to be watching a perplexing display of behavioral spasms when it comes to decision-making.
A contributing factor to this bewildering lack of direction might well be the absence of a coherent and well-defined foreign policy. Our government’s approach should not depend on luck, happenstance, and serendipitous circumstances.
One is left with the definite impression that most Americans would be uncertain as to how the White House defines its current relationship with the rest of the world, other than a few truncated grunts and interjections: “Us strong them weak; us good guys them bad guys; us smart them very dumb; us rich (ha ha) them poor” and the like.
Okay, maybe some Americans can sum up our foreign policy a little better than that. However, I’m betting that there are a lot of my fellow countrymen who aren’t even sure what our foreign policy is supposed to be, let alone analyze whether we are consistent and successful in its application. Why does a democracy support dictatorships, for example?
For that reason, I thought it was high time to offer some advice about principles we could adopt.
I know some of my ideas will seem strange. The words may burn a hole in the very paper upon which they are written. They could prove more potent than some readers can handle. I would advise safety goggles or at the very least 3-D sunglasses before you look at them, just to be safe.
You might also wish to consider making an appointment with a psychiatrist. After you are finished reading my heretical remarks, you may find your world turned topsy-turvy and upside down. Your psyche could be thoroughly transformed by thoughts new and wild. Good luck!
TEN PRINCIPLES
- The United States affirms its belief in peace and diplomacy as the first cardinal principle of its foreign policy stance. That is to say, the U.S. openly announces that it wishes to maintain peaceful relations with other nations of the world.
Toward this goal, there should be a de-emphasis on threats, saber-rattling, intimidation, bellicose rhetoric, insults, rhetorical provocation, shouting matches, spying, warlike moves, brinkmanship, economic blackmail, and the like.
- The United States should remain a member of the United Nations in good standing. People of the U.S. should be proud of its participation in international organizations. Naturally, we should do our utmost to keep commitments made under international treaties.
- If and when it becomes advisable to consider making changes to one or another aspect of our foreign policy, the White House should begin an open discussion with both Congress and the American public. We have had too much secret government machinations in the past.
There should be ample time for a thorough airing of key issues before a decision is made. Congress and the American people must always be given a chance to weigh in on proposed changes, rather than relying on the unpredictable impulses of any one person or agency.
- Foreign policy, above all, should represent our unshakable commitment to constitutional principles and democratic beliefs. Our State Department’s mission should reflect well the American people’s preference for peaceful, constructive engagement between themselves and the citizens and governments of other nations.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt developed a policy of “good will” toward our South American neighbors. Such an approach should be reintroduced and amplified a thousand-fold. By extending a helping hand, by offering to help build infra-structure, the United States will make many more friends and allies than they do by policies of inaction or opposition.
- The U.S. would be well-advised to stop supporting military dictatorships around the world. It should stop giving millions of dollars, primarily in military aid, to dictators who live a lavish lifestyle, build their own personal fortunes, and use the arms against their own people. This brutality contradicts fundamental American values while creating distrust and hostility toward the United States.
Especially wrong-headed is the persistent urge to prop up unpopular rulers simply because they are perceived as friendly to American corporate interests. By supporting brutal dictators who repress their own people, we make life-long enemies. By supporting military juntas and coups, we open the door wider to terrorism and escalating military conflicts. A nation as great and wealthy as the United States must not be selfish in its foreign policy, if it is wise.
- Another cardinal principle of our foreign policy, therefore, must include non-intervention in the affairs of other countries. Even as we expect our own sovereignty to be respected, so too must the US respect the sovereignty of other nations. This pledge of non-interference must include countries with a different form of government than our own.
- The US should demonstrate a much greater willingness to build up the infra-structure, industrial development, and technology of other nations. The poorest regions of the world do not need more war, famine, and social chaos. These areas are breeding grounds for violence and terrorism. These regions need communication and transportation systems, water and electricity, social services, agricultural revitalization, construction projects, a dependable currency, and a strong modernizing economy for buying and selling.
To the extent other nations wish to industrialize and move toward a technology-driven society, the U.S. should do all in its power to help them accomplish those aims. To the extent other nations wish to pursue a slower pace or different set of goals, the U.S. should respect and support their decisions and policies so long as they conform to humanistic, democratic goals in general. Extend the playing field: don’t splatter it with the blood patterns associated with the chaotic destruction of internecine war and civil unrest.
- The U.S. should always remember that its most effective foreign policy is to maintain a democratic form of government at home alongside a high standard of living for its people. Our government must understand that America’s influence around the world is best served when our nation is praised as a role model for a peaceful, productive society—one in which citizens enjoy both personal freedom and opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their families.
Successfully addressing issues of inequality at home ultimately leads to a greater positive influence upon nations abroad. We gain high levels of respect whenever we demonstrate we are living up to our ideals of America as a land of opportunity, justice, and equality.
- American foreign policy should reflect the good will and generosity of the American government and people. At every level of society—governmental, scientific, and cultural–we must be willing to share our knowledge, expertise, and wealth. We must think of ourselves as global citizens and work to improve the quality of life for everyone through international agreements and direct people-to-people engagement.
The fundamental cause of unrest around the world is the growing divide between rich and poor, the haves and have-nots. Extreme poverty and squalor in drought-stricken regions of the world, now facing calamitous famine, will lead to even greater destructive unrest if the richer nations sit on their hands and do nothing. Climate change will exacerbate deplorable living conditions for millions of people in the years to come; the most advanced nations must redouble their efforts to find scientific and social solutions to mitigate and reverse the environmental catastrophes now taking place all around the world.
There are too many people living in refugee camps or risking their lives through treacherous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea in unseaworthy boats. There are too many people traipsing the exhausting journey of stateless families desperately seeking asylum anywhere they can find a modicum of sympathy and support.
These dire circumstances call out to all good people of conscience to do more to ameliorate such great hardship and suffering. Refugees fleeing persecution, poverty, and war are not America’s enemies. In times gone by, people just like them came to these shores to build a new life. Generation after generation of immigrants made significant and lasting contributions to American society though their labor and ingenuity. Through their artistic creativity and inexhaustible productivity, they enriched American life a thousand-fold.
- The United States must recognize that it is this extreme world-wide poverty that is leading to disastrous social disintegration of nations and the destabilization of entire regions. It is not enough for the United States and other western nations to pledge peaceful diplomatic interactions with other governments as one of their foreign policy priorities. The underlying social and economic conditions that produce the combustible fuel for violence and war must also be addressed: immediately, consistently, and determinedly over an ever-longer sustained period of time.
The only way to avoid or lessen the likelihood of terrorism and war is for the United States to change the direction and nature of its foreign policy. Our government must stop propping up military dictators simply because they behave in a manner favorable to the interests of U.S. corporations and military planners. America’s reputation for democracy must reflect the hopes and aspirations of its people and not just the needs and desires of the rich, whether our own plutocratic elite or the smug oligarchy of another nation.
DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES SHAPE FOREIGN POLICY
Now I realize that one or more of these ten principles may shock the reader to his core! Nevertheless, a strong argument can be made that these principles have always been a part of America’s foreign policy, historically speaking. The principle of equality among nations dates back to the Revolution and the founding of the country itself. George Washington adopted the policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries; he pledged peaceful relations and was determined to keep us out of war.
All of these ten principles flow naturally from the democratic principles upon which America was founded. Perhaps no one is articulating well what Americans believe when it comes to how our nation should interact with other countries, but we have always had sound principles for foreign policy.
Truthfully, what is written here is not actually meant to be “shocking” except insofar as the average American may have become bewildered and confused in recent years by what our government does (or does not do) abroad. They may not realize that such principles guiding our foreign policy already exist and have stood the test of time.
If one has not seen such language in a long time, it takes time to reacquaint oneself with the bedrock principles upon which American foreign policy has always been based. Inconsistencies and contradictions have overwhelmed our foreign policy for far too long. We cannot support a rightwing military dictatorship in one place and “democratic nation-building” in another place without appearing hypocritical, confused, duplicitous, and insincere.
When the current occupant of the White house is impulsive and unpredictable as to what he wishes to accomplish in the way of foreign policy, such a state of affairs inevitably reflects poorly on America: on all of us. Granted, some presidents are not well-educated or experienced in such matters but all can learn if they wish. They can study anew the cardinal principles of our history and democratic philosophy. They can relearn and reaffirm the constitutional principles upon which our nation is founded.
They can read the words of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and many other Founding Fathers, as well as those of the wisest presidents in succeeding generations. New presidents can become familiar with the historical record of America as a country intent on maintaining good relations with other nations, where peace is the highest priority and war is contemplated only as a last resort. Only in peacetime do nations achieve their highest levels of productivity, allowing citizens to accomplish their greatest creative expression as human beings.
IS IT SAFE YET?
Well, I guess it’s safe now to take off those 3-D sunglasses and safety goggles, set aside the fire extinguisher, and cancel your appointment to see a psychiatrist. These words were never meant to be incendiary or shocking though I still fear they may have that effect on some few readers.
We need a foreign policy that is clear, consistent, democratic, and humane. These ten principles are meant to help light the way by reminding us who we are and from where we came.
We were born in revolution. We overthrew the Old World’s monarchs’ habit of constantly embroiling their nations in incessant wars. We pledged peace and equality with other nations of the world so that they, too, in time could discover the blessing of liberty, the joys of democracy, and their own potential for economic productivity within a well-ordered society at peace.
We should not and must not impose our will on others. Instead, we should do all in our power–through example and persuasion, through diplomacy and negotiation–to show our faith in peace and friendship as the best and only way to create a sustainable peaceful and prosperous world.
Let us revisit, rethink, and reaffirm our belief in these basic principles of a sound, democratic, and productive foreign policy that makes friends, not enemies, of the governments and peoples of other nations of whatever race, religion, or culture.
America, as a nation of immigrants with astonishing diversity, is well-suited to take the lead in the re-emergence of a sane attitude of governments toward all the world’s peoples by implementing a foreign policy that is founded on peace and good will–a foreign policy that will carefully guard and nurture our most cherished hopes for a better future for all great humanity: for the one family of mankind, bar none.
