Big Guns and Fightin' Words

A newly-released poll showed that 51 percent of the population said they trusted the government ‘not too much’ or ‘not at all’ about the United States’ relations with (and the veracity of their reports concerning) other countries.

It is a known fact that the Bush Administration lied about WMD’s being in Iraq. It’s also a known fact that North Korea DOES have WMD’s and stated that “The United States doesn’t have a monopoly on pre-emptive strikes,” ominously suggesting that such a strike may occur on American soil. Given the Administration’s position that North Korea is an “outpost of tyranny” and part of the “new axis of evil,” a drastic departure from the peaceful talks had during the Clinton Administration, we are only escalating tensions.

And what about the “spread of democracy”? The poll also stated that “given 11 foreign-policy objectives, respondents ranked ‘actively creating democracies in other countries’ dead last. Only 20 percent of respondents said they considered that aim to be a ‘very important’ goal of U.S. foreign policy.” Are we really “winning the hearts and minds” of the Iraqi and Afghanistan peoples? Daniel Yankelovich, the leader of the study, reported that “both Republicans and Democrats have come to the conclusion that democracy is something that countries can only come to on their own."

So why are we still fighting abroad, both with words and guns? Is forcing “democracy” down another’s throat good for either us or the receptive party? Are strong words only inciting anger and giving justification for attacking our country?

What do you believe?