Histories lessons

 Did some reading about the Monroe doctrine yesterday. I remembered a little bit about that from history class all those years ago, you know, back when we weren't apologizing for everything. President James Monroe decided our foreign policy should be, mind your own business. That's pretty much the jest of the doctrine. The United Staes wouldn't interfere with European nations and any European nation attempting to interfere in ours would be considered as aggressors. The two terms of Monroe's presidency was later to be called the era of good feelings. The wars in Europe had subsided a bit, mostly peaceful and the two political parties at the time the Federalists and Democratic Republicans were even getting along fairly well. James Monroe instituted this doctrine because he wanted the United States of America to act independently. We had an army and a Navy, had won our independence, and it was time to stand on our own two feet. America was to grow up! The doctrine worked well for the most part. But as with most things it came to an end because of money and politics, not necessarily in that order. 

 Now this doctrine wasn't an isolationist thing, it was an attempt to delineate a sphere of influence. That is to say, mind your own business and we will mind ours. We could and would engage in trade with all the nations of the world but not interfere in their wars or conflicts. In return those nations were not to interfere in ours. As with all political documents it was interpreted differently over time, new meaning added or subtracted. Following our involvement in WW1 that doctrine was ignored. Well Germany was sinking American merchant ships, so we really had no choice. Then the Japanese attacked, and we had no choice. Then we signed treaties and agreements that left us no choice. And we have been involved in European wars ever since. In fact, it isn't just European wars but the entire globe now. I'm thinking we should have stuck to the Monroe doctrine! Sure, every now and again you would have to put somebody in their place, but we should return to that doctrine immediately afterward. We should have done that instead of financing the recovery of every enemy we ever defeated. Should just have left them in ruins and said, now, mind your own business from here on in.

 And what is our foreign policy today? The Biden administration says their goal is to strengthen alliances with foreign governments that were damaged by the Trump administration. So far, the only thing they have accomplished is evacuating Americans from foreign nations. And I would point out they haven't done that very well. The policy is one of partnership with foreign powers. But Monroe and others like him know the United States should be independent. We should be taking care of own business and stay out of others business. 

 The United States of America has risen to be the leading superpower in the world. How did we achieve that? We did that during WW2 when we mobilized our industrial might. Historians will argue that we began our reign as the dominant superpower in the world in 1898 with the Spanish-American war. This action was supported by the Monroe Doctrine! Yes, that was one reason given for our intervention. The explosion on the battleship Maine is often cited as the reason as well. Well, if the Spanish were responsible for that, and no one knows for certain that they were, it was an act of aggression. They should have been minding their own business. 

 In 1903 Teddy Roosevelt said, "walk softly and carry a big stick." What did he mean? The United States will negotiate peacefully but are prepared to defend ourselves! You could say that lead to an arms race and perhaps that is correct. If we hadn't rebuilt everyone, we defeated I don't think there would be any doubt about who has the biggest stick! Imagine if we just concentrated all our resources on Americans. We did that at one time, a long time ago. We defeated the major force in the world at that time. We defeated the bloody British and took control of our land. We built a Republic like no other seen in the world. We rose to the top! Now it is estimated that we will lose that number one spot by 2030 to Asian countries. That's because those Asian countries will control the purse strings. Those that control the money have the power. That's how that works. France and Spain helped us during the revolution, we couldn't have done it without their financial assistance. We had the will but not the way. And where are we today financially? All I can say is, we had best start taking care of our own business and let the others take care of theirs.