Some have argued that America should keep to itself. That we should not set ourselves up to 'police the world.' I have news for you: we have done so since before anyone currently living was born.
As early as 1827, we hunted pirates off the coast of Greece. In 1843, before the Civil War, we worked to discourage piracy and the slavery on the Ivory Coast. (Some might say that this was the height of hypocrisy.) In 1919, we entered what is now Croatia - at the request of the Italians - to maintain order. In 1950 we protected South Korea with UN endorsement and have bases there to this day. In 1964 we entered the highly unpopular Vietnam War. In 1990, we entered Saudi Arabia in what was at that point referred to as Operation Desert Shield, later known as Desert Storm.
Those are just a few examples, but they show one thing - there is precedent for our 'meddling with' or 'policing' the world. In short, my fellow Americans, we have not now and have never been an isolationist country.
What is worse, we cannot afford to be isolationists, even if we could when it all began. Two hundred years ago, we didn't have transatlantic flights. We didn't have the ability to pick up a phone and call Beijing. We couldn't turn on a computer and chat with someone in the Northwest Territories of Australia.
Two hundred years ago, we couldn't sit and stare in horror as men, women and children died in painful, drawn out ways.
We couldn't even do that on the 6th and 9th of August 1945, when we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, a man can get on a flight on one side of the world and be on the other in less than a day. The basic chemical formula of Sarin gas is only a few typed commands away.
In 1995, the religious group Aum Shinrikyo released Sarin gas in Tokyo. Luckily, only eight died.
The attack in Syria killed 1429. Almost one third of the casualties were children.
I ask you to picture, for a moment, that you are with your family. Your day is going well. If you have them, then your spouse and child are happy. They are content to be with you and you with them. Perhaps you are at a movie theater, or a shopping mall. Suddenly, your child's pupils constrict. He or she has a runny nose and complains that there is tightness in the chest. It is difficult to breathe. These same symptoms show in your mate and you begin to experience them as well.
Uncontrolled vomiting, defecation and urination follow as your body seems to turn against you. Muscles twitch and jerk. You cannot effectively hold your panicking child, or reach to comfort your mate. The three of you foam at the mouth as symptoms worsen. You cough and spasm, you cannot get enough air. You die, not even knowing who or what killed you.
This is the reality that the victims faced on the 21st of August. This is the reality we all face if the policy against the use of chemical weapons is not enforced. What monsters are we that not enforcing it is even considered an option? What kind of fool thinks that this cannot happen here?
I do not stand with monsters or fools. In my heart, I stand in the ruins of the lives lost and I say no more. I support diplomatic action but, if - or more likely, when - that fails, I say bomb the facilities used to create it. Destroy the government that supported it. Beat down their city, gentlemen, and sow it with salt so that nothing may grow.
"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
For a full list of American Military Actions in history, click here.
As early as 1827, we hunted pirates off the coast of Greece. In 1843, before the Civil War, we worked to discourage piracy and the slavery on the Ivory Coast. (Some might say that this was the height of hypocrisy.) In 1919, we entered what is now Croatia - at the request of the Italians - to maintain order. In 1950 we protected South Korea with UN endorsement and have bases there to this day. In 1964 we entered the highly unpopular Vietnam War. In 1990, we entered Saudi Arabia in what was at that point referred to as Operation Desert Shield, later known as Desert Storm.
Those are just a few examples, but they show one thing - there is precedent for our 'meddling with' or 'policing' the world. In short, my fellow Americans, we have not now and have never been an isolationist country.
What is worse, we cannot afford to be isolationists, even if we could when it all began. Two hundred years ago, we didn't have transatlantic flights. We didn't have the ability to pick up a phone and call Beijing. We couldn't turn on a computer and chat with someone in the Northwest Territories of Australia.
Two hundred years ago, we couldn't sit and stare in horror as men, women and children died in painful, drawn out ways.
We couldn't even do that on the 6th and 9th of August 1945, when we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, a man can get on a flight on one side of the world and be on the other in less than a day. The basic chemical formula of Sarin gas is only a few typed commands away.
In 1995, the religious group Aum Shinrikyo released Sarin gas in Tokyo. Luckily, only eight died.
The attack in Syria killed 1429. Almost one third of the casualties were children.
I ask you to picture, for a moment, that you are with your family. Your day is going well. If you have them, then your spouse and child are happy. They are content to be with you and you with them. Perhaps you are at a movie theater, or a shopping mall. Suddenly, your child's pupils constrict. He or she has a runny nose and complains that there is tightness in the chest. It is difficult to breathe. These same symptoms show in your mate and you begin to experience them as well.
Uncontrolled vomiting, defecation and urination follow as your body seems to turn against you. Muscles twitch and jerk. You cannot effectively hold your panicking child, or reach to comfort your mate. The three of you foam at the mouth as symptoms worsen. You cough and spasm, you cannot get enough air. You die, not even knowing who or what killed you.
This is the reality that the victims faced on the 21st of August. This is the reality we all face if the policy against the use of chemical weapons is not enforced. What monsters are we that not enforcing it is even considered an option? What kind of fool thinks that this cannot happen here?
I do not stand with monsters or fools. In my heart, I stand in the ruins of the lives lost and I say no more. I support diplomatic action but, if - or more likely, when - that fails, I say bomb the facilities used to create it. Destroy the government that supported it. Beat down their city, gentlemen, and sow it with salt so that nothing may grow.
"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
For a full list of American Military Actions in history, click here.
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