Has Anyone Seen a Big Stick?

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” This phrase, once characterized American foreign policy. The key principal behind “Big Stick Ideology” is that we as a nation should tread lightly in world affairs while maintaining the economic and military might to crush any adversary. I am a big fan of this policy; I believe this idea is the best way to ensure peace and prosperity in our fine land, yet we no longer adhere to this principle. We certainly no longer speak softly, the American government now forces itself into others domestic policy issues, we send diplomats gallivanting around the globe spewing a new policy agenda every 2 years, involve ourselves in others conflicts and take it upon ourselves to solve others issues, this is certainly not speaking softly. Turn on the news, or better yet get on a plane, go see what the world thinks of our interference in their nations, we have stepped on numerous toes, which would be okay I guess if we still had… you guessed it, a “big stick”, however, sadly we do not. The might of the American military was once something that stuck awe in to the hearts and mind of people and nations around the globe. Under President Reagan we were the mightiest force the planet had ever known, the might of our military brought down the Soviet Union without firing a single shot. The idea of American retaliation was something that was once feared. Now we are laughed at. We can’t say terrorist anymore because we may hurt someone’s feelings, our military is no longer able to return fire without permission when the “enemy combatants” (not terrorist) are trying to kill them, we have to arrest and mirandize these individuals so that they may stand trial in the U.S. What does that say to our enemies? If you attack us we’ll send our military out to arrest you, read your rights and bring you back to the U.S. to receive three meals a day in an air-conditioned prison? How in the world did we get to this point? We as a nation have become so caught up in appearances that we are willing to sacrifice our own security to avoid some hurt feelings. Our enemies are lurking, we are despised by many capable organizations throughout the globe. We must find our “big stick” once again; we must show our enemies that we are ready and willing to crush them should they rise up against us. We must also learn to speak softly, It is not the job of the American Government to police the world, It is not the job of the American taxpayer to fund other nations projects or clean up their messes. When we as a people group assert our ideas and opinions on others who do not want them we inspire fierce resentment. If we “spoke softly” we may not have as many terrorist organizations to be weary of in the first place. I would love nothing more than for my kids to read about terrorism in the history books, but if we continue down the road we are on now, my kids will be reading about terrorism in the newspapers. 

Cowboy Poetry:

Recently Harry Reid spoke against the budget cuts proposed by conservatives. Was he trying to save education funding? Nope. Defense spending? Nope. Entitlement programs? Nope. He spoke out against efforts to cut the budget for arts programs using Nevada’s annual cowboy poetry festival as his example. This man, this supposed leader in our society has the nerve to speak out against efforts to reduce deficit spending so that some cowboys can put on a poetry reading? Is this what we’ve come to as a society? Unemployment is hovering around nine percent nationally; our credit rating is on the precipice of being downgraded, our housing market has collapsed, an estimated one million people will be foreclosed on this year alone, our retirement funds have dwindled, we as a nation are in dire economic straits and the root cause of this is poor fiscal policy and deficit spending. In the midst of all of this, Harry Reid, the senate majority leader has the nerve to speak out against cutting the budget for cowboy poetry… Seriously America?  This is just another example of how detached from society the ordinary Washington liberal is, when we as a nation care more about cowboy poetry than fiscal solvency we are truly in trouble. We must return to our fiscally conservative roots, I have nothing against cowboys or poetry however I do not under any circumstances, believe it is the role of the federal government to fund cowboy poetry. When we are in 14 trillion dollars of debt something has to go, shouldn’t cowboy poetry and similar programs be on the chopping block? Shouldn’t we care more about maintaining our infrastructure than our poets? I for one think that if Thomas Jefferson heard Mr. Reid’s speech he would have challenged him to a dual on the spot. I love this land, and we must get our fiscal house in order or risk dire consequences. 

Hello America

I have decided to catch up with my generation and start a blog. I can’t think of a more fitting title than the one I’ve chosen! I have much to say and much to rant about. It is my sincere hope and desire that you will subscribe to my blog so that you may gain an insight into my perspective on the world. I am first and foremost a United States Marine and a Proud American. I believe in the founding principals of our forefathers, the constitution and most of all I believe in freedom. I describe myself as a Goldwater Conservative, which puts me at odds with many on the right, and everyone on the left. I am a 21 year old college student and this blog is my attempt to motivate and empower my generation to take responsibility for the direction our nation is going. We are the future and we must act now to preserve the future of this great and mighty land. I love this county and over the next few years I hope to change the world, one outburst at a time, wont you join me? Once I get five subscribers I will begin posting regularly, lets get this show on the road!