Domestic & Foreign Policies - How They Hurt

Written: 03/30/08

I love the movie “300” not only because the men have 6 or 8 pack stomachs but for the action as well; it’s quite violent and bloody as it is about war. The Spartans, were fighting against a man who thought he was a god-king and wanted to dominate them. The reason I bring this up is to discuss our domestic and foreign policies and how they hurt us.

The second title for the leader of this nation is “Commander-in-Chief” and I wonder if the person holding that position, especially Republicans who love to flex their military muscles, had to lead the military, would they be so quick to start a fight. I find it so ironic that someone like George Bush, who found a way to escape Vietnam, would put this country and Iraq into such a quagmire and the loss of so many, on both sides, albeit more Iraqis have died, still be able to sleep at night. This quagmire has lasted longer than World War II, it’s insane and folks lie to themselves that our military is protecting us. None of the hijackers were from Iraq, most of them were from Saudi Arabia but because the Saudis are “wink, wink” allies, we leave them alone even though they also treat their women just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan but it’s okay because they’re our buddies. Whether we like it or not, we have invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 under the guise of WMD’s and because of that insurgents have entered the scene. The interesting thing is that those insurgents wouldn’t even have thought of entering Iraq if Saddam was still in power. Not only that, at some point, as much as the Shiites and Sunnis hate each other, there’s an enemy they both hate, the U.S. There’s a saying that goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. If actions are not taken soon to withdraw, to re-establish a more politically and religiously diverse and definitely more competent government,these two warring factions will join forces to destroy us because, to them, we are the infidels and we must be purged. Kind of what happened to the Native Americans but that’s another story.

Although there may be some Iraqis grateful for the invasion, (we don’t even protect those who’ve helped our military by giving them shelter as they are marked for death for collaborating with us), we have to recognize that there are those who don’t want us there and this takes us to how it hurts us. In watching the national news a few months ago, ABC did a story on some of the families who have fled Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. The majority of these families are headed by husbands/fathers who had professional careers and lived a middle class lifestyle. Now they are no more than beggars and the breadwinners for these families are now the daughters and I don’t mean just the daughters 18 and over, but girls as young as 12, who have to sell themselves in order for their families to eat because many Iraqis are not permitted to obtain jobs, as they are foreigners in these countries. Some are fortunate enough to open a market stand but not all. Consider the sons who see the resignation in their fathers who once had pride and dignity as the man of the house, the breadwinner taking care of their families; consider these same sons as brothers who have to watch helplessly as their sisters become common whores for foreign men and losing not only their virtue but the honor of the family. Explain to me how this would win the hearts and mind of anyone. These boys will become young men who will hate this country for what has happened to their families and even now, some have joined with the insurgents and then they’ll teach their children to hate the U.S. Over 8500 Iraqis have died and they have been violated as a nation; as a people, even with the sectarianism that divided them; they had their homes, their lives. People of this nation react intensely when the flag is defiled. How would we react if a more powerful nation did to us as we did to and in Iraq?

I am bemused that so many citizens seem to think that the hatred of this country has only recently come about and am just as bemused that of the entire world’s nations, the citizens of this nation are most unaware, or don’t care, of the history of actions and policies of this nation. Many will be angered at what I’m about to say but if you do your research you’ll know that I’m not blowing hot air and for many alleged Christians, it is our responsibility to hold to the truths of things, spiritual/religious as well as secular, no matter how painful. Since the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, the refusal to accept others different from themselves started. The Native Americans helped the Pilgrims and how were they repaid? Wherever the U.S. has gone, especially as missionaries, to clean up everyone else’s act, there has been pain and bloodshed. It was done to the Native Americans first in this nation, then to the African-American race and it continues for both. Do you think that other nations don’t pay attention as to what‘s going on here?

The foreign policies of this country amounts to bullying. If a country or leader doesn’t want to do what we want, we blacklist them and call them derogatory names. A couple of examples, Fidel did what the U.S. couldn’t; he rid Cuba of the dictator Batista, who for years provided safe haven for the Mafia. Our government gave Fidel and Che Guevara the weapons and money to complete the job, once done, we said, “okay Fidel, this is what you’re going to do for us”. Fidel said no, so we called him a Communist when he turned to the Russians and then we slapped Cuba with an economic embargo and I have to say this, that as poor as that country is due to our embargo, everyone has access to medical care and a college education. Manuel Noriega, was a powerful military leader of Panama and an ally for a while. We told Manuel what to do and he did for a while but at some point, things fell apart.
Daddy Bush then had our military invade Panama, surround Noriega’s compound, bombarding with loud music and weapons until Noriega was captured. Now he sits rotting in a U.S. prison somewhere in Florida unless he’s been moved. We supported the Shah of Iran, who was just as evil as Saddam as well as Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and when things went sour, American tax monies were spent to ferry these despots, families, and cohorts out of their countries. When Reagan was president, we were friends with Iraq and Saddam was up to his devilish ways then as he was when we invaded his country, yet we turned a blind eye. Why? He served a purpose. We hated Iran, Iraq hated Iran, and so we figured he’d help us topple that country; we gave him weapons and money. Hey, he was our boy until he decided he didn’t want to be our puppet anymore. He was naughty so we did Desert Storm and we even got some insurgents who wanted to throw a coup but we didn’t back them and you can figure their final ending once Saddam found out. Then there’s Osama Bin Laden. Does anyone even know why he hates us so? During the 1980’s, the Russians were in Afghanistan, trying to take over, (did anyone see Rambo 3 or was it 4, or the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War” which depicts the event?) Osama and the Mujjadin were going to liberate the country and since we hated Russia, we armed Osama and his boys with weapons, we even gave them money. Our fatal mistake was disrespect for someone else’s culture and tradition. During Desert Storm, our military was on land considered sacred to the Muslim religion which offended many and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, however, that’s not the only thing that feeds the hatred of Bin Laden and others; our foreign and domestic policies are economically, racially or religiously motivated. Why didn’t we go to South Africa during the apartheid, the Sudan, or even Darfur? Because these are Black people annihilating each other even though in Darfur, it’s racial cleansing but we went into Bosnia because of racial cleansing. We choose where we go and now it’s usually when it benefits those in power, (Dick Cheney, Haliburton, etc.). Russia and the U.S. are the two bullies on the world’s playground; you have to side with either one or the other. Again, do you think others aren’t watching?

I do realize that there’s no perfect country, however, we proclaim that we are the nation built on “Christian” values, yet we don’t live it and we don’t want to be reminded of our sins. An example is during the uprising of the Iranian people after we got the Shah out of there. Iranian students took over the American Embassy with hostages and we were incensed but what really burned this nation was the pictures of Black men dangling like rag dolls from tree limbs that these students hung up in their square. Boy, did we react, denouncing those pictures with more fury than there was in denouncing apartheid in South Africa because of the shame; we were being shown who we really are. My son watched a program on PBS and this program highlighted the fact that many Black families in towns in the South, owned properties which Caucasians wanted. First, a certain legal loophole was established that if, you didn’t sign certain papers and then deserted said property, it could be taken over by someone else. Black families were threatened with physical harm and out of fear, they left the towns and then the property was taken over by the Caucasian families that wanted it. These things are still happening in this country. In parts of the deep South, there are citizens, albeit mostly Blacks, living in conditions similar to Third World countries. What kind of domestic policy is racism? What kind of domestic policy is economic injustice? It’s quite interesting that at the time we remember the 40th anniversary of the slaying of Dr. King and what he fought for, George Bush is out in Eastern Europe fighting for the political rights of entities such as Croatia who are trying to break away from the grips of Russia yet this very Christian president refuses to address racial and poverty issues in this nation and makes life better for the rich in the tax breaks he’s created for them.

The Bible says, "GOD shall not be mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that will he reap,(Galatians 6:7)”. What has this country sown? Hate, racism, exclusion to list a few. As Christians, we have a responsibility to decry the injustice, the inequality, and the racism in our nation. People vote for morals values and patriotism and for the life of me, I don’t remember seeing any of those words nor do I remember reading about this country or the flag in the Bible. CHRIST, for Whom CHRISTianity is named, died for people, those who suffered spiritually and by society’s ways. He broke all the molds and He informed the conservatives of His day to show mercy, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,(Matthew 12:7/Hosea 6:6)”. We have no excuses. Both the domestic and foreign policies of this nation are creating a very divided, unfair and unjust world that we blame others for. We don’t have the right to be dictating to anyone else about justice, equality and democracy. CHRIST said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use; it will be measured back to you,(Matthew 7:1 & 2)". We have a responsibility. In FATHER’s eyes, this country is no better or worser than any other. “And He has created from one blood, every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,(Acts 17: 26)“; so where do we get off thinking we’re superior? Patriotism, values and all those nice sounding words won’t get us into heaven. We can no longer be blind to the truth, no matter how ugly it is. Our domestic and foreign policies do us more harm than good. In the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s it working for us?”