The Revolution: A Manifesto

[liveonearth]

I've started book #2 of the summer. It is a joy to read Ron Paul. He is so matter of fact about what has happened in our nation, how politics has become formulaic and false. His first chapter is about foreign policy, drawing a distinction between isolationism and noninterventionism. He is a good writer, a clear thinker. He quotes figures from an early American history book, and pulls together bits of history about our interactions in the world to paint a picture and allow you to draw your own conclusions. Part of the glory of America, for the first 130 years, was that we did not bother other nations. We were open and friendly, but we did not take anything that was not ours, and we did not position our military all over the world. We were glad to trade. Other nations respected America--our nation shone as a beacon of freedom and egalitarianism.

I love to read Ron Paul's take on World Wars I and II and on Hitler. He says that WWI was the first time that the American public was prepared for war using government propaganda. The war had been at basically a stalemate and when the US intervened it was in a position to impose an unfair punishment on Germany after the war, in the form of the Treaty of Versailles. Ron Paul refrains from saying anything this strong about the treaty, but he does bring up an example of another post-war "peace" treaty after the Napoleonic Wars that allowed France to be reintegrated into the community of nations in a matter of a few years. The sentiment brewing in Germany was that the treaty was unfair, and Germany was a "third-class nation", and Hitler made a name for himself by denouncing the Treaty of Versaille. Thus it was Wilson's interventionism that caused Hitler to be in a position to gain power. Ron Paul uses this to illustrate that intervening in the affairs of other nations is unpredictable, and may well result in governments and peoples less favorable to your cause instead of more favorable. I believe his point has been borne out many times in the course of history, I am only too ignorant of the stories to tell them. And I certainly agree that being friends instead of bosses to other nations would be a more favorable way to exist in the world.

Did you know that the US has troops stationed in ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY other countries?
What a waste.

I'm happy to hear in the news today that Obama really does plan to end the war in Iraq--in 18 months, was it? I think he will. I only wonder if Shrub will manage to invade Iran before he is out of office. The powers that be are certainly gearing up to it. Let me just say that in my view Iran has every right to develop nuclear power plants, which is what it has been established that they are doing. And frankly I don't see why they have any less right to nuclear weapons than we do. We have no business trying to control the whole world. We will cause the end by nukes faster if we try to contain everybody. We really need to butt out of the Middle East before the Arabs of the world flatten us.

Ron Paul inspires me. Reading Ron Paul, and Karen Armstrong, reminds me that not all people are ignorant selfish jerks. Just most. Like my neighbors who blast shitty rock out their windows all day. Ahhh, for winter.

Comments

[kellamaste.livejournal.com]

I think if we want a good indication of how we will end up, we should look at the British Empire. They policed (and conquered) the world for centuries. They were very powerful until right around WWI, but despised by many of the countries they controlled. We got the police hat right around the end of WWI because we were the ones that turned the tide and Britain didn't really have any energy left I think. I mean heck, they had lost colonies already and were on the verge of losing most of their empire bit by bit. Look at all the trouble we caused them!

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Yes, Karen Armstrong grew up during the post-wars period of British national hardship, desolation and cultural despair....Britain was exhausted...she wrote of it, and of the atheism that followed on its heels. I can imagine something like that coming to America....but I still don't want to. I want to go back to national integrity and have a new era of American glory! It's just painfully unlikely... Wah.