HAS ALL THE POLITICS HURT OR HELPED THE U.S.

In recent years it has become more evident than ever that the U.S. political scene has become more cutthroat and uscrupulous than ever before. We have had our share of political fiascos especially when it comes to foreign policy and even more on the domestic front. It seems to me that our politicians have lost touch with the pulse of America. Who in God's name ever made us the world's policemen? We did, or at least our governing leaders did decades ago. After the end of World War II, the United Nations was established to help keep world peace by offering dialogue to resolve international issues rather than violence. It was an outgrowth of the League of Nations proposed by then President Woodrow Wilson at the end of World War I. Unfortunately although it has had its problems, the United Nations has still been more successful overall than the League of Nations due mainly to U.S. support.

At the end of World War I, the League of Nations did not gain U.S. support and as a result was a dismal failure, which only fueled the fire which eventually led to the start of World War II. The Treaty of Paris which Germany was forced to sign only served to make the people of Germany bitter, and ultimately led to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s. The League of Nations found itself powerless to do much of anything to thwart the impending doom, and instead basically was nothing more than a place for minor problems between countries to hold dialogue. By the time Hitler took over control of the German government, the League of Nations had been basically abandoned, and there was no public forum through which countries could hold dialogue, to resolve their problems and concerns.

Our leaders hoped that through the United Nations things would evolve differently, but countries like the U.S.S.R and China were hell bent on taking over economically and politically weak nations. We as a nation believed that between NATO and the U.N. we could contain communist agression around the world. Although they did manage to curb the stem of communist aggression in many areas, we were thrust into a Cold War which lasted into the early 1990s. It was of course during this Cold War period that we became the world's police force, and assisted many underdeveloped countries with both economic and military aid to curtail the spread of communism. Since the end of the Cold War we have maintained our world police activities, becoming involved in not only wars between nations, but internal civil wars as well.

Our politicians over the years haven't really changed their views very much, and although I by no means recommend a policy of isolationism, I do believe we need to straighten out our priorities. We have become virtually totally dependent upon foreign oil, which has seen our transportation costs skyrocket over the past several years, as well as any costs involved with petroleum based products or services. The main problem seems to be in the fact that politicians rely on big business, labor unions, and special interest groups to help get them elected. The common hard working people seem to have little say in who gets elected anymore, and suffer as a result of all the big money interests who seem to control the elections through big campaign contributions. That old adage that there is no such thing as an honest politician never rang truer than it does today.

It is definitely time for a change. Our entire system of government needs an overhaul, using the Constitution as it's basis. We have a fantastic baseline from which to work and build upon, but only if it's done properly. That means listening to the people of this country and really hearing what they have to say. We need to stop trying to fight battles in countries where we are not even respected, or just for economic reasons. We need to turn our attentions inward, and return to what this country once was, a country of citizens who were prosperous and strong and healthy. I have no problems with helping other nations or peoples, but if this country is going to thrive and remain a world power, we need to take care of ourselves before we can help anyone else. In my opinion the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are a waste of money and manpower, and should be terminated immediately. Our troops can better serve us by helping to protect our borders from terrorists, illegal aliens and drug smugglers.

We can better use those economic resources to create new jobs, offer affordable health care and housing to our citizens, finance alternative fuels, and for medical research to name a few. We have a national election coming up, and this may be our one chance for many years to come, to elect someone who really has their pulse on us, and fight for us, and create some opportunities for change for the better of all U.S. citizens.