Sunday, October 14, 2007

Big Brother America

I know some people think America can sometimes get their nose involved in international affairs which they shouldn't be involved in. Sometimes America's actions are biased and "big brother" like but other times I think they're just. I mean there are so many problems in the world today and there are so many terrible intentioned agendas and weapons. And these weapons are only getting more powerful and more dangerous. With all this conflict and danger all it takes is one mistake, just one mistake to cause a global crisis. For example, if one country gets their hands on or starts a nuclear weapons program this adds one more hassle to the globe of problems. These days a lot of countries are gaining the financial resources and knowledge to build these kinds weapons. If a country with ill intentioned motives has this kind of power it could be dire.

A lot of these countries are not run by democracies where a congregate of people react, deliberate, think, argue, and discuss before acting. In reality they're run by a few to one person aristocracies, tyrannies, and dictatorships which can sometimes be irrational or respond with emotional and sporadic intentions. This is bad news. You see when countries are enemies with one another they arm themselves accordingly; they react in the best interest for themselves. There is a paradox in game theory called the prisoners dilemma where the best outcome mutually cannot be reached because countries would have to act individually in their least great outcome. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) stems from game theory and explains why countries will arm themselves and arm themselves with the most advance weapons possible. If Iraq (before the invasion from America) is a landlocked country with a lot of oil and a lot of enemies which surround them, they will be motivated to protect themselves. Other countries will be motivated to counter with arming themselves also. With all these issues mounting how easy is it for a country to launch one nuclear missile in the name of "defense"? If such a single event takes place do you know what kind of repercussions would happen? It would be a colossal domino effect. The damage will extend to other countries and they will retaliate. The nuclear debris and fall-out would spread to other nations. It would be a big mess. I mean just think about it, when democratic America was hit with terrorist attacks we went and took over a country. What will a nuclear missile make a country with a sporadic dictatorship do?

That is just one of the terrible problems existing in this world. You have to understand that there must be a peacemaker or someone powerful who can keep these things from happening. Methods are debatable, yes, but there is a need for some type of instrument to step in. We cannot rely on the countries to work these things out themselves all the time because the threat of it not working out just one time is too great to leave it to chance alone. I am grateful that the super power of the world today is one that is run by the ideals and values of a population which is educated and strives for standards that are beneficial to society as a whole. It is these things and this type of system which allows for peace and understanding to spread, that we need in our world and that we need keeping the peace. Critics of America can say what they feel, ( and it is important that they do because when they take action and correct the things they find wrong with America by their words and actions they make America better), but I implore them to ask themselves what would the world be like without her? Where would we be? Sometimes we cannot have the absolute good (policies and actions that lead to success every time); we often have to settle for the greater good. What I am trying to get at in summary is, has the net benefit of America being in this world, having done the things that it has done, and strives to do exceeded the net costs of its position and actions in the world?

"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in."
-Theodore Roosevelt

Monday, October 8, 2007

Global Warming

Recently for a Chemistry assignment this weekend we had to watch Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". It got me thinking about the environment again. I know I had talked briefly about Global Warming in a comment to someone else blog but I would like to share and expand on my perspective.

The earth is the only habitat and home we have in the known Universe. Trying to relocate the population somewhere else is unpractical, close to impossible, and resourcefully draining. So we have to make do with what we got and what we got isn't bad at all. The planet is a scare resource and it is very valuable to us for that reason. When we burn fossil fuels we disrupt the carbon cycle by adding a net 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide a year. This heats up the planet by trapping more solar energy. The ice caps which act as a mirror to bounce of light energy from the sun are melting, lakes are drying up (Lake Chad is a good example), storms are getting stronger, global temperatures are rising. All of these signs are warnings from the Earth desperately trying to tell us that the increase in CO2 is going to change the environment for the worst.

And yet we have great problems in trying to reduce that carbon dioxide. For one it’s pretty hard to find a cheap alternative energy source that has the convenience fossil fuels have that are inherent to them. Trying to implement a policy to alter from fossil fuels is another obstacle altogether. These problems aren't new they have been around for quite some time but it is the conversation that is important. Educating the public is important and finding solutions are so important. Al Gore said in his video that when he went to congress in the 70's after his professor had shared with him some new research information that the CO2 levels in the atmosphere were rising that he, Al Gore, was sure that his government would hear him. He had so much faith in democracy going into the problem. However when congress heard him they did nothing. It became part of his agenda to inform the public and the world about the problems they were going to have a devastating impact on our planet and for the future.

As a young person, this movie has motivated me to do something about it, engage myself in the issue. This problem isn't just a problem that an American needs to solve but it is a global problem in which humans everywhere need to seriously think about. There has been too much procrastination and second agenda policy that has been going around with global warming. We owe it to our planet and we owe it our human race to really start the chapter in taking care of a global killer, a problem so huge it may take centuries to fix. I don't want to start when it is too late. After all your kids and my kids deserve a home where they can grow up, we have to protect that idea at all costs. We have to protect this home.

Monday, October 1, 2007

My voice is one

How many Americans at the time voted to go to war in Iraq? It is certainly a lot less now. I don't understand it. When we went to war in Iraq we said that we have to go in order to stop Saddam Hussein and protect freedom for the world. I ask you how many dictators are there in this world and how many people are being exploited and abused by their governments that could have used the 1 trillion dollars that we have spent on every cost that is associated with Iraq. And why is it that George Bush says it's a war on terror? A war on terror will never be over. Terror is not a country; it is not a tangible thing. There will always be terrorists or at least people who we think are terrorists (sometimes one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter).

If there wasn't a clause in the U.S. Constitution that stated a president may not serve more than two terms I believe that George Bush would become a dictator. I feel that he does not listen to the people. When the polls clearly show he is not doing what is in the interest of the people he continues to push on Iraq. When it is all said and done what will become of the image of George Bush? I will not remember him as a man who strengthened our country, one who increased the benefits of being an American that we enjoy, or decreasing the deficit. No, not at all I will remember George Bush as an individual who did not listen to reason and to people. Who was not a wise leader, who could not apologize or admit that he was wrong. Being the president of the United States is not something you do for ego, money, or fame. You become the President of the United States because you believe in Public Service. That is how I envision it, the champions of democracy, the true leaders like John F. Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln. These are the leaders that built a strong nation and a strong foundation. George Bush insults me. He insults my country. He has alienated relationships with so many other countries; he has tarnished the image of the United States so that we now look like a branch of government that monopolizes the regulation of the world and advocates war not relentless negotiations.

Thank goodness for Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and the many other framers for the constitution, they at least knew that time to time we would have elected a leader who no longer possesses the proper qualities and constructed a powerful system of check and balance to protect the people from unintelligent thinking and a change agent that would eventually eradicate bad thinking altogether. We take it for granted because we are so use to a stable system. If you have lived in another country that relies on rule which is not provided by the people, then you have lived in a very dangerous place. My voice is one of many in our nation, our voices are important because as a collective whole we are the most powerful aggregate that will bring the government to service us. Never stop thinking and never stop voicing.