US Neo-Isolationism

I’m not the only one to notice.

http://www.hoover.org/research/new-american-isolationism

quote:
“A grand retreat has begun, and the reduction of the US commitment has, in turn, set off a wave of repercussions.”

“It is not only about changing evaluations about this specific corner of the globe; it also reflects predispositions to retreat from politics altogether, to retreat from the burden of leadership, and to retreat from the advocacy for democracy.”

“Obama’s Washington has turned to an ever-shrinking engagement, symbolically represented by the deployment of the weapons system that most symbolizes the absence of a human element, drone warfare.”

“The call for democracy, a leitmotif in US foreign policy from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush, has been silenced by the Obama administration.”

“…the US, once the undisputed leader of the West, is ceding the region to competitors and enemies. At this point, the antipolitical inclinations of the administration and our culture, veering toward isolationism, turn into an explicit abdication of leadership.”


Taxcutter says;
Behold the reset!

Neo-isolationism is workable but we’d better start preparing for World War III. US isolationism encourages tyrants.

 

Dreams from his father, the anti-colonial, anti-imperialist.

 

You know, the problem is, if this is true, we are not a self sustaining country.

Everything has been sent overseas because of heavy taxation and heavy restrictions.

So if we truly become isolated from the world then I don't think we will survive as a nation.

But if we do then we'll have another WW II where enemies of our way of life will attack us like Japan did, thinking we're a weak and decadent people.

Which of course will bring us out of isolation and into the world again.

 

Why does the United States need to spend its people and treasure to save the world from itself?

Why is a change from aggressor to spectator mean isolationism?

Why try to help those who do not want it and have a history of throwing it back in your face?



How would you position our country in this world that is different?

 

The one common behavior to Americans is that they all think everybody has to be like them and follow their rules and they will not take no for an answer.

Eventually someday that attitude will come to bite the back in their arse.

 

It seems our "Arse" is already scarred and bloody....which is the main reason we no longer put it on the line to help others. I for one can only say it's about freakin' time and feel sorry for those we once tried to help, but no longer feel sorry for the parents and families of American Soldiers.

 

Taxcutter says:
The experience of 1935-1945 was pretty vivid.

 

That is not Americans that is what ever country is on top. The same could be said for Rome, Spain, England, and now us. I suppose the real question who will the next country be and will the world be better or worse off?

On a different note we have sent a lot of our manufacturing over sees but we are still in the top five manufacturing countries in the world no matter which index you use. Also we have the resources, know how, and wealth to reverse that and become the top at will. We just have chosen not to at this time. But if we wanted to or had to we could manufacture almost everything we need. In a way we are just letting other countries use their resources, pollute their land, and have something worth trading while we acquire wealth through technology and services.

 

Methinks you need to wipe off the spectacles that you use to look into the past.

The reason why the US is no longer sustainable is because Americans (of their own free will) chose to trade most of their industrial base for a quick buck. Now the US has no native manufacturing, of course we're dependent on other nations for manufactured goods. That has nothing to do with taxes, and everything to do with lack of foresight!

Of course greedy people will always claim that any tax is too much tax. And the US was founded on the notion that we can have our cake and eat it too. But when has that ever come true? Go ahead and look! The answer you'll see is "never". That's because stuff costs money.

If you have a new and brilliant was to get something for nothing, I'm sure that you wouldn't be here complaining; you would be too busy collecting all those freebies, right? So in the absence of any better solution, we have taxes.

While that's nominally true, the chances of that actually happening is nil.

Ah...no. As before, if you have a time machine, you wouldn't be here complaining.

Oh, I see -- this is all about unfounded fears, invisible bogeymen, "reds under the bed" and other hysteria.

The fact is that time has indeed passed, the era of Imperial Japan is past, and the current biggest threats to US sovereignty are almost entirely self-inflicted wounds...caused by panicky Americans shooting at those bogeymen.

If the US can learn any lesson from recent history, it's "don't pick that scab!"

 

Sorry, but no it hasn't.

And Americans care nothing about history. They'll just keep on doing the same things over and over again.

You see, that's the thing about history, people don't learn from it. Just because we've gotten past it doesn't mean the same things won't happen again.

Why?

Greed.

Greed blinds people to the harm they cause, especially in American culture.

Greed is what caused GB to expand its empire.

Greed is what's causing America to expand its empire.

And I suspect it's really greed that is causing Russia to invade the Ukraine. However, this is just a suspicion and I have no real proof to back this up.

Greed is what is causing the conflict in the Middle East. While it may not be greed for financial gain, it still is greed for power.

Greed is probably behind Turkeys' militaristic action.

Greed is probably what is behind the conflict in Brazil right now.

Greed. Greed greed greed greed greed greed greed.

And white westerners never learn to get off the greed ride. They want what they want and to hell with anybody else who gets in the way.

And that's what will cause people to attack America.

Oh there'll be other excuses, but these are just smokescreens.

 

Can you please tell me why you think we have not native manufacturing? We are one of the top manufacturing countries in the world according to all the latest studies I have found..

 

I'd appreciate a link to those studies please.

 

That looks swell on paper, and if we were all James Bond racing around in billion-dollar jets and playing with fancy Q toys, that might be a supportable lifestyle. But the fact of the matter is that the US does not manufacture the every day things that people consume. Not a whole meal. Not a complete car. Not a machine tool that could be used to start over.

American cannot subsist on war materiel alone.

Do we? What I see is a race to deplete our resources, as if scorched earth is some sort of prize. The wealth from selling off those resources isn't being invested here; it's all going overseas. And when it comes to know-how, we aren't the nation that's training many new engineers and other applied scientists. Other nations are (wisely) investing on that, but the US is just too mean to save itself.

Wrong. Technology is like living tissue. It's a "use it or lose it" proposition. Without the technology or the infrastructure already there and running, the cost of starting up again increases geometrically over time. The US is rapidly approaching the point where it no longer has the capability to compete at all on anything against other nations. Heck, we may have already passed that point! The only way to know for sure is to start putting skilled people back to work and try to compete.

As for the polluting part, you might want to look at the mess that the fossil-based economy is making of America.

 

It is one thing to remember and learn from the past....yet another to live in it.

None of todays players are a Hitler...not even Putin is that stupid. But, should one arise we should note the future threat and chop off the snake head before it bites rather than killing every reptile that sticks out it's tongue.

 

sorry, but we have spent enough blood & treasure in the Middle East.

so unless you're willing to enlist in the armed forces and put your own ass on the line, don't talk to us about being "isolationist".

 

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/.../aea9f024eca0b310VgnVCM3000003456f70aRCRD.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/25/us-usa-manufacturers-costs-idUSBREA3O0AW20140425


A more detailed explanation of whats going on:
http://manufacturing.gov/mfg_in_context.html

That is what I could find on my lunch break I am sure there are more.

 

We're not an advocate of democracy. We're an advocate of certain business interests.

We're becoming less interventionist for the simple fact that we can't afford it much anymore.

We've neglected our own country for the sake of feeding the war machine, and the public has started to notice this.

 

don't like isolationism?

go pick up a gun, and fight the war yourself.

 

Taxcutter says:
It isn't the war machine. It's the free stuff. Free stuff accounts for 70% of federal outlay.

Like the British and Europeans before, the US military is being weakened and the taxpayers bled white to keep the free stuff flowing.

Russia and China notice and are rushing to fill the vacuum.

 

Taxcutter says:
The Europeans, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Philippinos better go pick up a gun and fight....or get used to being slaves.

 

The United States goes through these periods of Isolationism I am not not convinced that this is a bad thing as long as we maintain the strongest navy in the world and keep good trade relations with our friends. If our people need to tighten their belt a bit and be more responsible that is for the best realy.

 

Our social welfare system is pretty small compared to that of many of our peers. Norway spends a much higher percentage of their budget on "free stuff", and yet, they're doing much better than us. They don't spend much on their military either.

 

Isolationism my ass. Wilson was a protofascist. Look up to men like Jefferson instead of vermin like Wilson. Interventionism on such a massive scale is a relatively new development. It's only seen as pro-America because since Wilson both parties have been solidly behind it. The Democrats are all talk, as they are on almost all issues. In practice they are anything but isolationist.

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In addition, this dichotomy between "spreading democracy" and isolation is a complete farce. It's very possible to have a friendship between two nations that doesn't involve a military alliance. Good diplomacy does not result in you going to war for their protection. On the contrary, foreign relations should never result in the state stealing from its citizens to protect others half way around the world, even if there's a vague connection to US security (one which in almost all cases is not served by invasions and bombings).

The goal of diplomacy is to have other nations reciprocate liberal interactions between the citizens of each state. It's not to go galloping around the other side of the world "spreading democracy". Strange views on foreign policy for someone with the handle Taxcutter.

 

Taxcutter says:
Like Finland, Norway should fear the bear.

 

I like Finland. It is the land that has the most fish in the world.