The problems of the rest of the world are theirs and theirs alone. What happens in your country should stay in your country and away from mine. Making your life better won't make my life better. I'm going to look after me and my own. Statements like these are what come from an isolationist mindset, a mindset that has grown in our over the last six years. We weren't always the world's bully. We have also been the world's caretaker. Ask yourself, which one do you prefer?"I dismiss the cynics who say that this new century cannot be another when, in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, we lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good," Senator Barack Obama said to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on April 23rd.
If this is going to be a century in which we heal our strained alliances and regain the confidence of our friends abroad, we must do it by battling the evils of the worlds and promoting ultimate good, we're going to have to take on the responsibility head on. This magnificent change is not going to occur on its own it is going to require a tremendous effort by a leader with a strong moral compass. And we as a nation will soon have to decide who we will trust as a leader and choose to repair our image in the world community, Barack Obama wants to be that leader. Barack Obama IS that leader.Senator Obama knows and has said that people across the world not only want to be free, but also they want to be free and have their living situation meet even the most basic levels of human dignity. One of the very first actions of an Obama presidency will be to double our foreign aid to $50 billion annually. There will inevitably be isolationists that don't want our resources spent helping our friends overseas. I wonder how they can we witness the horrors in the world and not find a way to make it a better place for all of God's children, our brothers and sisters. "We cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child, everywhere, is taught to build and not to destroy," added Senator Obama.And for those of you who think you can't stomach $50 billion a year going to help do things like prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa, or subsidizing the free press in Eastern Europe then let's put it in context. The U.S . Government has already spent nearly double that figure in Iraq alone. President Kennedy once observed, "true peace is not just peace for Americans, but peace for all humankind. And it is not just peace for our generation, but lasting peace for many generations." In order to achieve a peace that lasts our lifetime and our children's lifetimes we must fundamentally abolish injustice that occurs around the world on a daily basis. If we fail to educate the disenfranchised young people who are being recruited aggressively by terrorist organizations, we will never be able to stem the tide of terrorism. Improving the living conditions of these young men is not only a moral obligation, but also a national security necessity.Barack Obama can send a message to the world. He can tell the world, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now." We can give him the platform to do so. We must aggressively persue the America we want for our future and the world we want for our future. I see that future starting with Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
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