Should the U.S. become more isolated? ( Improve our sovereignty, restrict imports and immigration, stay out of foreign affairs, drop out of the United Nations, and focus on our country only) Do you think isolation would improve or hinder our economy and national security? How isolated should we become, as far as an "iron curtain"?
Should we open our borders and enter more international trade agreements?
Should we protect our sovereignty or should we give in to the United Nations and let them tax us and decide our laws?
What are some advantages and disadvantages of isolation?
Thanks for your input--
Daniel Hooker (7:00)
18 comments:
I think that if the United States became more isolated, we would just be screwing ourselves. I mean look at all the money that we get from trading with other countries, and we are still in a giant ass hole of debt. Other countries are going to help us in time of need, because we help others, so we may have something that happens to our soil and are defenseless, then we are going to need some one to come to our aid. i think that we should open our borders and become more opend to trade with different countries that we dont trade with now, including cuba, because who doesnt like cigars. I dont really care about the United Nations, i think that we could make our own allies and would be able to defend ourselves with out being in the United Nations.
Cameron Brown-7:00
"Isolationism" has always been a debated political topic. Whether or not a country should be or should not be isolationist affects both living standards and the ability of political rulers to benefit favored firms and industries.
"The policy or doctrine trying to isolate one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements. Seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities."
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States' favorable attitude towards interventionism was strongly enhanced. For example, the National Security Strategy states,
...The United States will use this moment of opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom across the globe... The events of September 11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan, can pose as great a danger to our national interests as strong states. Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.Isolation wouldn't be a good idea for economy we would go into depression again I think.I believe that we should open our borders and enter more international trade agreements this will help our economy. However isolation would improve our security and also help with all the illegal aliens from coming into our country.
Yes, we should protect our sovereignty.
Kelly Martinez(700)
I don't think that becoming more isolated is the ticket. That seems pretty risky. I don't know for sure, but I think that a lot of our nation's economy has to come from trade and whatnot. I don't neccessarily think we need to open our borders and let people just flood in. If we did that, then I think we would exhaust our resources and be in a jam too. We shouldn't drop out of the U.N. either. That's just crazy talk. It is a symbol of unification, hence "United" nations. We need that. If everybody became isolated, there would still be problems. If not world wars, then there would be civil wars constantly. For whatever reason people seem to be chomping at the bit to do crazy stuff. I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more help.
Dustin Piercy (9:00)
No we should not become more isolated. THis will cause many problems in the long run. We are so far in debt that we need to keep trading with foreign countries and we should open up to more countries and trade. That will bring in a shit load more money for our country. Also opening up to other countries could help us because it kind of like "if you scratch my back i will scratch yours" if we helped out other countries by taking their goods and letting some of them in to the country they will help us when we have a crisis in the United States. We need as many allies as we can get. NO the United Nations should not decide when we eat, sleep, shit, and definitly not our laws. Our country is doing a good enough job throwing out laws to follow for us. We do not need any help. Advantages???? Well i cant think of any and Disadvantages??? Well i just told you all of them....
Shawn Harshbarger
I believe that the U.S. should become more isolated in some areas of the world. We should still trade with the same people and allow immigrants, but we need to clean up our own land before getting involved with other nations. We have problems in this country too, but sometimes I feel they get overlooked for the world affairs. We shouldn't become another iron curtain, but we need to worry more about the U.S.. We should protect our sovereignty and work on improving it, but we need some interaction with other nations(trade). An advantage of the isolation is that we worry about our own problems, deal with them and make us a stronger country. A disadvantage would be possibly less trade which would affect the economy and less friendships.
Ryan Lowry(7:00)
It would be extremely selfish of the United States, if we decided that we should become more isolated. We help other countries so much, and they in turn help us. Not to mention, we make an increased amount of money off of other countries because of exports, imports and such. I don't think we should open our borders however because we already have way too many illegal immigrants. I think that we should protect our sovereignty, after all, we are one of the most powerful countries in the world, and I think we should have our own laws.
Brittney Hillebrand - 7:00
No, I don't believe the U.S. should become more isolated. I do, however, believe our policies toward immigration should be changed. I don't believe we should be supporting immigrants. I don't believe we should support anyone who is not a U.S. citizen. I think that every other country that has become isolated has proven that it is detrimental to their economy. I think we should make whatever intenational trade agreements that we think will be to our advantage. I don't think we should ever let another governing body decide on our laws. It is up to us to decide what laws we should follow. I don't think isolationism has any real advantage, our country was formed by people of different races and backgrounds and I believe we will remain strong as long as we keep it that way.
Steve Kidd (7:00)
While I agree that the U.S. isolates itself to much, A drop out of the U.N. would probably be a bad thing. Yes we do do good inother country's. We also try to do too much and as of now we are overextended. We can't control our borders but we try to control other's ffor them. I say we do pull back for a while. If only to try and tkae away some iof the damn debt. Ceaseing trade with others would be bad because of the loss of revinue. But then again our economy is based on debt so maybe debt is a good thing. The trading with Cuba would be good, not trading because we dont agree with their polotics is silly and immature. We can defend ourselves without the U.N. But a few seconds ago you said we would need aid eventually, who do you think is going to send aid? Cuba? We need the U.N. as much as it needs us.
Michael Logue(7:00)
I think that if we became more isolated then we may just be pissing other countries off even more. I mean we already have this attitude like we are better than every other country why make it worse. We acquire tons of money every year from trading with other countries and getting goods and products that our society needs. By isolating ourselves we would just be isolating the resources we need to acquire from them.
Frankie Gaskill (9:00)
Should the U.S. become more isolated? No, quite the contrary. I think in a real sense we have isolated ourselves from the more civilized cultures in Europe, particularly Scandinavia, and I think it's a mistake and a shame. We've been playing the role of bully for so long that we have lost much respect from societies more educated than ours. Americans are seen more and more as thugs, enforcers; we have fallen into thinking that might makes right, and that cultures who don't operate as we do are wrong. This has isolated us from other countries. They see us as the NY Yankees or Duke's basketball team--priviliged, arrogant, undeserving.
I would like to see a movement in another direction, where countries unify instead of diversify. I'd like to see one flag flying over the entire globe . . . one language, eventually (NOT English!), one currency, one human family. I think this is the way the rest of the world is heading, albeit quite slowly, and if we resist then other countries will be happy to see us toppled, just like everyone likes to see the Yankees lose in the playoffs.
The more international trade agreements, the better. Fuck Bush. He's a fear-monger who had set us back 20 years.
Jason Horath (9:00)
We should be improving our own country but that doesn't have to include isolating ourselves from others. I don't think we should drop out of the U.N. why should we? Maybe just to prove that we are the selfish America that every already thinks we are. I think we do enough trade w/other countries as it is, that's not to say that international trade is wrong totally. In this country we should focus more on local and less on global. Some goods are neccessary to trade internationally but not nearly as much as we do. I don't know anything about the U.N. wanting to tax us and make our laws, is that really what you suggest they're trying to do? The idea of isolating ourselves seems far extreme of what we have now, lets try something in the middle.
Renee Hart
I know that America is known for others wanting to live in "the great and free country", but I think it might be better to be a bit more isolated. I don't know how isolated we should be. Maybe not as an "iron curtain", but somewhere in between that and where we are now. Sorry, I really don't know too much about this to give a very strong opinion.
Elizabeth Kerns (9:00)
The United States should not become more isolated. Our economy is vastly improved by trading with other countries and shutting our borders would stop all of this. Also, I think that restricting immigration would hurt our country. U.S. citizens get angry that people are coming into our country, but they don't realize that these people are doing all of the jobs that nobody wants to do. The United States has always led the world in international trading and I don't think it is a coincidence that it is also the world's largest GDP.
Chris Bohnhoff (Noon)
I think we should not isolated from other countries because that would really hurt our country. Most of the resources we have today are traded to us from other countries. That would do nothing but cause more violence between us and other countries. We have to help out other countries because that what helps the entire world. If we cut off all the other ountries and just focused it would put other counteies in trouble and it will eventually start to affect us inthe long run. It would not help with security, wwe are always going to have security problems out there due to terroists so we just need to focus on better and safer ways to help out the world.I think we should just leave everything how it is because we don't need and more problems right now.
demaris winston(7:00)
During his State of the Union address, President Bush warned Americans about the lure of “isolationism.” The president mentioned “isolationism” or “isolation” four times, warning that the strategy offered only “false comfort” that would result in “danger and decline.” By contrast, the president explained his own position clearly: “The future security of America depends on…the end of tyranny in our world.” But who are these isolationists, and what is it that they are proposing?
It’s tough to tell. The term “isolationist” didn’t arise until the late nineteenth century, when it was made popular by Alfred Thayer Mahan, an ardent militarist, who used the term to slur opponents of American imperialism. As historian Walter McDougall has pointed out, America’s “vaunted tradition of ‘isolationism’ is no tradition at all, but a dirty word that interventionists, especially since Pearl Harbor, hurl at anyone who questions their policies.”
That’s pretty consistent with the way the president used the term. During the speech, he presented the choice on Iraq in the bipolar manner that has become his trademark: On Iraq, either you’re with the president, or you’re with the isolationists. “Responsible criticism,” according to the president, comes from within the first faction, whereas “defeatism,” “hindsight,” and “second-guessing” come from the latter. In the real world, the choice is much more complex than simply between the reckless and militant interventionism of Bush’s forced democracy policy and the head-in-the-sand posture of isolationism. Setting up the isolationist straw man was a cynical tactic used to frame the debate over Iraq, not a serious characterization of a real position on foreign policy.
Jack McKliggin
These so-called “isolationists” (to use the term foisted on them by their interventionist enemies) worried about the risk of war, the costs of war, and the domestic consequences of imperial policy. They well understood Randolph Bourne’s statement that “war is the health of the state.” Permanent mobilization in time of peace—the essence of the Cold War—fostered many undesirable policies. Conscription was especially evil. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio called it “essentially totalitarian” and added, “it is the most extreme test of our whole philosophy. . . . We shall have fought to abolish totalitarianism in the world, only to set it up in the United States.” When the Truman administration brought in legislation for peacetime conscription, or UMT (universal military training), Representative Howard Buffett of Nebraska argued that Selective Service “would prove to the world that Hitler was right—that the threat of communism externally justifies militarism and regimentation at home.” It rested on “the totalitarian concept that the state owns the individual.” Representative Lawrence Smith of Wisconsin complained that there would be “no escape” from “economic controls, manpower controls, and the regimentation that goes with dictatorial power.”5
Felix Morley, president of Haverford College, wrote in 1955 that centralization must accompany our increasingly imperial foreign policy. Our institutions, “rather than our imperial policy . . . will be modified.” Congress was becoming a mere rubber-stamp for agencies working in pitch-black secrecy like the CIA and AEC (Atomic Energy Commission). In 1957, Morley wrote in Modern Age that America had reached a point where “we have a vested interest in preparation for war.” Defense spending was a major prop of full employment and we were dangerously addicted to it. Behind the screen of secrecy which the Cold War made possible, we were “losing the substance of self-government” to a rising “self-perpetuating managerial elite.”6
Argus Elkien
I think moderation in all things is always the best option. We shouldn't totally isolate ourselves because this brings about limitations; no where has the best of everything on one single plot of land. Also we wouldn't have the security of being protected by other nations. On the other hand, we have to support our own growth, and our own resource development. And we also don't want to get tangled up in too many foreign affairs. If we can avoid situations like the one we are in with Iraq, then this would of course be very beneficial. Therefore, I think a view that sits somewhere in between each of these two extremes is probably our safest bet. Finding a happy medium is complicated though.
Tristan Cogswell
If the u.s.a become more isolated it would only hurt our country. We get so much money from other countries and we are still in debt. We help others and that is why they help us when we need them. We should open our borders and trade with different countries more often.
Haley Stewart (7:00)
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