Sunday, May 31, 2015
The U.S. Needs to ignore the "sniffles"
This past week I learned about Clinton and his views during the 90's and what American was going to do about the crisis in Bosnia. The one part of Clinton's speech that really stuck with me was when he uttered the words "We can't do everything, but we have to do everything that we can". This seems to be an American Ideal that has been carried on. It is not necessarily a good thing. Just becasue we can do something does not mean that we should. Although in the case with Bosnia, of course this statement would have been true because there was obvious chaos and turmoil that was ocurring. In any other case, maybe it would not always be wise for the U.S. to interfere. Problems were happening in Bosnia that other countries could not fix. The U.S. was practically obligated to lend their help if so many others had tried and failed. In the case of Bosnia, assisting with whatever they could do was a good idea. In the case of another conflict, it may not necessarily be recquired to intervene. If my friend was dying, and I could save his life, I cannot do everything becasue I am not a trained physician, but I will do everything I can to save his life. If my friend had a cold, I would not be as concerned so instead I would probably not do anything and just let him survive by himself. This is something the United States could practice. We could save people when they are dying, but when someone has the "sniffles" just leave them be to sort it out because they will eventually get better.
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Alex, I think I agree with your assessment of how America reacts to different situations across the globe. The one problem I could see occurring with your point of view, is how to determine what a "sniffle" is. Everywhere across the world there will be problems, and some will affect people and some will affect even more people, and some will affect even more. We may not see it as a huge problem, but the people directly affected will. So how do you quantify exaclty what is a "sniffle" and what isn't?
ReplyDeleteI think Zayan has a good point about defining what a "sniffle" is. I think Clinton was trying to do that a little bit by saying the missions would be focused (although that hasn't always held up). Also, even if something begins as a sniffle, it can be hard to tell if it's just allergies or if the symptoms will worsen. But yes, the United States ought to pick and choose its missions, primarily so that the missions it does embark on are, as Clinton wanted, focused and successful.
ReplyDeleteI feel like America's obligation in foreign affairs is to get itself involved with other nations conflicts and problems. We "help" nations regardless if we get benefits or not. I believe that the speech Bill Clinton gave was more to remind the people of how great and amazing America was and the amount of power it had. This "sniffle" you talk about is what the America needs to primarily focus on rather than broad topic, just like how Zayan and Spencer had stated.
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ReplyDeletei agree with your point on how America get involved in everything and shouldn't even though we can most of the time. but i also want to point out something you said. in the fourth to last sentence you said, "if my friend..". the reason why American tends to get involved in everything is because we are either their allies or have some sort of international relation with them. and we feel that if we dont get involved we won't feel safe or our economy will suffer.
ReplyDeleteWell said, all. Great responses to a provocative post!
ReplyDeleteI Really liked your metaphor, I like the whole doctor thing, I mean if the person has the sniffles there is really nothing you can do to fix it, the only thing anyone could do is make it worse, but in the case that someone is dying no one wants to just stand there, but trying to do cpr without knowing how it works can really mess people up, the same goes for countries. I think that I may be reading further into this then you meant, but regardless I think it made me realize something, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to read both the blog post and the plethora of comments following, all of which where very interesting and thought provoking. Specifically Zayan's point about determining what a "sniffle" is. How can we really decipher what problems are big enough for intervention, and which are not? Moreover, while it is important we are careful what events we involve ourselves in, it is also important that if we do choose to get involved, we have a plan. Because it seems thats where many of the troubles begin; going in without a set goal.
ReplyDeleteI Really liked your metaphor, I like the whole doctor thing, I mean if the person has the sniffles there is really nothing you can do to fix it, the only thing anyone could do is make it worse, but in the case that someone is dying no one wants to just stand there, but trying to do cpr without knowing how it works can really mess people up, the same goes for countries. I think that I may be reading further into this then you meant, but regardless I think it made me realize something, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteI Really liked your metaphor, I like the whole doctor thing, I mean if the person has the sniffles there is really nothing you can do to fix it, the only thing anyone could do is make it worse, but in the case that someone is dying no one wants to just stand there, but trying to do cpr without knowing how it works can really mess people up, the same goes for countries. I think that I may be reading further into this then you meant, but regardless I think it made me realize something, so thanks.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zoe that the metaphor of a doctor was an excellent idea, and I feel it really helped to bring a fresh view to the American position.
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