January 8, 2010 8:04 AM

HELP WANTED: Someone to replace us as the world's moral policeman

Hmmm. You think it's a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it's also arguably the happiest nation on earth.... [W]hat does seem quite clear is that Costa Rica's national decision to invest in education rather than arms has paid rich dividends. Maybe the lesson for the United States is that we should devote fewer resources to shoring up foreign armies and more to bolstering schools both at home and abroad.

It's an idea so breathtaking simple and sensible that it's almost too easy to laugh it off. Eliminate our standing army and devote the money to education? Yeah, it's "out there", as ideas go, but think about it for a moment...and then ponder a very simple and yet important question. Does America need to be able to project our military power worldwide in order to protect us from numerous threats...or art the numerous threats a reaction to our projecting our military power worldwide? Sure, it's a question that borders on the overly simplistic, but think about it. What IF we were to decide that our resources and our power could best be used here at home? What IF we simply packed up our tents, left countries to figure things out for themselves, and pulled back within our own borders? What IF we decided that it was time to take care of our own? Would that constitute cowardice of the highest order? Or would it represent an opportunity for America to refocus, reprioritize, and take care of our own?

I'm not going to get into a long, drawn out discussion of something that will never, ever happen, but it is worth considering the possibilities here. I don't pretend to know how many gazillions we spend on our overseas military efforts, but just think of what we might be able to accomplish if we were to leave foreign affairs to the involved countries and refocused our efforts and resources on strengthening our own country?

We can be a truly great country...or we can continue being the world's moral policeman. In a world of increasingly limited resources, I'm not convinced that we can do both.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 8, 2010 8:04 AM.

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