COMMON SENSE; Revisited
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Imperial Hubris, Why the West is Losing the War on Terror
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 07:22 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedThis is a very well researched and honest analysis of the impact of U.S. policies on the Muslim world. This book should be read by every voting American before the next presidential election.
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A Foreign Policy of Freedom
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 03:37 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedThis book lays out the case for a foreign policy of nonintervention based on the experience of Paul's 20-year career in Congress.
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The Founders and their Abhorrence of War
July 24, 2009 at 09:35 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedPost under:James Madison, the father of the US Constitution, stated:
"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or imagined, from abroad."
We are all aware that George Washington issued a warning in his farewell address against entangling alliances with other nations and cautioned us explicitly to pursue the opposite of war as our fundamental foreign policy.
If possible, Thomas Jefferson was even more opposed to war as an instrument of effective policy. Among the many times he spoke on this subject he stated:
"I love peace, and am anxious that we should give the world still another useful lesson, by showing to them other modes of punishing injuries than by war, which is as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer."
"War has been avoided from a due sense of the miseries, and the demoralization it produces, and of the superior blessings of a state of peace and friendship with all mankind."
"Having seen the people of all other nations bowed down to the earth under the wars and prodigalities of their rulers, I have cherished their opposites, peace, economy, and riddance of public debt, believing that these were the high road to public as well as private prosperity and happiness."
"I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind."
"War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses."
The founders were intimately aware of the corrupting influence of power and the endless examples in history of rulers taking their nation to war for improper reasons. These reasons included personal glory, revenge against insult or simply a conquest of other lands for the natural resources that said lands possessed. It is a truism that the people fight the wars while the leaders reap the political benefits of conquest.
The concern for the corrupting influence of power was later warned against by Dwight Eisenhower who stated in his farewell address:
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."
Eisenhower's warning was from one who had personal knowledge of the culture of war given his position as the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, the first supreme commander of NATO and our 34th President.
Today, America has become a nation dominated by a "military industrial complex." The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, February 20, 2008 reports:
- U.S. military spending accounts for 48 percent, or almost half of the world's total military spending.
- U.S. military spending is more than the next 46 highest spending countries in the world combined.
In an article entitled The Billions For "Defense" Jeopardize Our Safety, Center For Defense Information, March 9, 2000 reported:
The lion's share of this money is not spent by the Pentagon on protecting American citizens. It goes to supporting U.S. military activities, including interventions, throughout the world. Were this budget and the organization it finances called the "Military Department," then attitudes might be quite different. Americans are willing to pay for defense, but they would probably be much less willing to spend billions of dollars if the money were labeled "Foreign Military Operations.
Given where we obviously are today is there any possibility that America could return to the peace loving nation longed for by the founders? The venerable Benjamin Franklin was once quoted as saying: "He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity shall revolutionize the world." The originator of that primitive Christianity Jesus of Nazareth (also known as the Prince of Peace) once said: "Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword." Matthew 26:52.
I can only pray that the American people have the courage to "put thy sword into its place" and return to the "light upon the hill" that lights the way for the world to embrace peaceful resolution to its problems. Given the absolute dominance the military industrial complex now has on our government, the impotence of our elected representatives, and the blatant disregard for constitutional limitations exhibited by the executive branch, it is only we, the people, who can change the direction of our nation. I leave you with another quote from Thomas Jefferson who gave us our declaration of independence:
I do not believe war (is) the most certain means of enforcing principles. Those peaceable coercions which are in the power of every nation, if undertaken in concert and in time of peace, are more likely to produce the desired effect. -
The Foreign Policy of the Founders
July 24, 2009 at 08:05 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedPost under:The idea, in fact, was to be fully engaged with all nations in commerce without getting involved in the alliances and wars that plagued the rest of the world. The hope was that the United States would set an example as a free nation that did not get involved in wars unless attacked. With that policy in place, people of other nations would strongly desire the peace and prosperity of America and follow its example, thus creating a free, prosperous, and more peaceful world.
The idea of a strong defense was balanced with the belief that a large standing army was also a danger to the peace of any nation. General Washington was one of the biggest proponents of a strong defense, but he was also the one who spoke most often about the risks of having too large of a standing army.
The Founders wanted a strong militia, and the militia, they believed, consisted of all of the people. The Second Amendment was not just about the right to bear arms, it was also about having a citizenry that was armed, well trained, and organized to come to the defense of the nation if necessary.
"The way to secure peace is to be prepared for war. They that are on their guard, and appear ready to receive their adversaries, are in much less danger of being attacked than the supine, secure, and negligent." -Benjamin Franklin
"There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war." -George Washington
The fundamental philosophy of the Founders toward other nations is just as valid today as it was 230 years ago. Its basic principle is the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It is a rule that applies as much to nations, which are made up of individuals, as it does to individuals. This is the fundamental policy that needs to be followed today.
While the wording might be slightly different in various countries, religions, and cultures, that same principle is found in every major religious and spiritual tradition:Christianity: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets," Matthew 7:12, King James Bible
Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you." Analects 15:23. "To treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.Hinduism: "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you." Mahabharata 5:1517Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths
Judaism: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Leviticus 19:18
Native American Spirituality: "All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." The Great Law of Peace
Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another? Samyutta Nikaya v. 353
Taoism: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai-shang Kan-ying P'ien
Many argue that the world is more dangerous today because of advanced weapons technologies, terrorism, biological weapons, scarce resources, and so on. It is precisely because of all these factors that the United States, the most powerful nation on earth militarily, must set an example that creates less volatility in the world and less acrimony.
The words that best described the nation's original foreign policy and the policy that should be pursued now were spoken by Thomas Jefferson during his first Inaugural Address in 1801: "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."
Unfortunately, this is not the policy that has been followed in the last century.
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Reality Zone
July 15, 2009 at 03:43 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedEdward Griffin's website. You can find updated independent news articles, some excellent videos and recommended readings.Organization under: -
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Ron Paul
July 14, 2009 at 06:49 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedQuote under:
Ron Paul, WTO Demands Change in U.S. Tax Laws (2002) http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/paul10.html.It’s hard to imagine a more blatant example of a loss of U.S. sovereignty. Yet there is no outcry or indignation in Congress at this naked demand that we change our laws to satisfy the rest of the world. I’ve yet to see one national politician or media outlet even suggest the obvious, namely that our domestic laws are simply none of the world’s business.
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Thomas Paine
July 14, 2009 at 05:58 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedQuote under:
Edwin Almiron Greenlaw, James Holly Hanford, The Great Tradition (Scott, Foresman and Company, 1919) p. 297.These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero
July 08, 2009 at 04:32 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedQuote under:
Attributed to Marcus Tullius Cicero, Congressional Record, vol. 114 (April 25, 1968) p. 10635. This passage was reprinted in U.S. News & World Report (July 29, 1968) p. 15.The budget should be balanced. Public debt should be reduced. The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered, and assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.
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Hermann Goering
July 08, 2009 at 04:28 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedQuote under:
Mark Gerzon, Leading Through Conflict (Harvard Business School Press, 2006) p. 22.Naturally the common people don’t want war. Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist disctatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
