Hmmmmmmm
My question here is should we have not invaded Iraq and just taken the chance that they would never do it again? What happens if they had nukes and decided that since they got away with 9/11 then they could get away with just bombing the US? Should we have taken the chance that they would have never done it again? Or should we have gone in there and shown them that they cannot get away with pushing us around? I wrote this in english class last semester, you should read it. (hmmm, and I thought that I would never use this essay again) Don't mind the quotes. This essay was for a lit class and we had to include quotes.
The American Dream
From the birth of America to America today, the driving force and the heart of America has always been the "American Dream." By looking at America now the dream has quite literally become a reality. The United States has always strived to be superior, and it is today arguably the most powerful nation in the world. Why is it then that citizens of non-American countries should not be able to have the chance to decide whether they too want to live the ‘American Dream”? American culture should not just have to be only in America. People in countries outside of the United States should have the opportunity to live the lives that they want without the fear of being “punished” for their actions. America is currently one of the most liberated countries in the world. It is important for American’s to make every effort possible to attempt to liberate countries that constantly force large amounts of their citizens to live oppressed lives.
There are many that would debate that it is not America’s place to decide to “liberate” other countries or to decide that it is going to take on the “War on Terrorism.” It is very hard to distinguish what the fine line is in deciding what terrorism is or isn’t. Some would say that America bombing towns in Iraq and killing innocent civilians is terrorism. This is not the case due to the fact that people have to realize that there are losses and gains when countries go to war against each other. Innocent people dying is a small price to pay for freedom. Even a country like America has had many human casualties trying to achieve the freedom that it has achieved today. My husband once gave me a great example of terrorism. He told me that when he was stationed in Turkey, terrorists would kidnap young females and tell these girls that they had their families and that the girls had to do whatever the terrorists wanted or they would kill their entire families. They would then take these girls and strap explosives around their stomachs to make them look pregnant and drive them to various government facilities. Once the young girls got inside of these facilities the terrorists would set off the explosives around their stomach. When reading this blatant example of terrorism, you must remember that females in a lot of countries in the Middle East are expendable, they have no rights. The girls would do these things because it is the only thing they can do to better their families.
To further emphasize; Andreas writes in his essay “September 11, 2001 marked the beginning of a new chapter in America’s foreign wars. In this chapter, violence may be more continuous and widespread and there may be more impact at home” (Andreas 749). Critics of the “War on Terrorism” need to keep an open mind that even though we live in America, what happens in the rest of the world will eventually come to affect America also. I don’t see why America, or any other country for that matter, should just stand by and let these acts of terrorism keep on occurring. Many third world countries do not have the means to take care of these internal problems themselves and require the help of outside nations. In a democratic or communist nation citizens do not have the ability to make decisions for themselves. Just because the high ranking officials in Iraq want Iraq to run one way does not mean that the rest of the citizens of the country do to. If a few innocent people must die so that dangerous terrorists are stopped, then it is something that must be done. The rest of the world should not just stand and watch as a nation falls apart on itself.
Countries such as Iraq and North Korea, in this day and age, do not even have the freedom of free speech. Citizens in Iraq and North Korea don’t have the option to say that they don’t like their leaders or that they don’t want to fight for their country’s beliefs if they themselves do not believe in the same thing. A lot of these people do not have the ability to stand up against their government and say that no what the nations leaders want is not what they want. For the most part the “American dream” is, that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. Prosperity does not just have to be in terms of money. It can also mean to make oneself better. With America trying to liberate nations that run under a communist or dictator governments, it gives a large part of that nations population the option to in some way shape or form, live the “American dream”. America does not force people to live an American lifestyle, it simply gives them the option to do so if they desire.
As D’Souza states in his essay; “America represents a new way of being human” (D’Souza 716). This is what America is trying to present to other nations while fighting the “War on Terror”. Terrorism is not simply people dying, it is forcing a nation to operate in a way that most of the nation does not want to. Terrorists, are in many ways simply jealous of America and the freedom that it allows its citizens to have. D’Souza also states, “At their deepest level their (the terrorists) assault is moral: they seek to destroy America’s belief in herself” (D’Souza 717). One thing that drives America to liberate Iraq is its belief that it is doing the right thing. Americans need to believe that they are doing the right thing by “liberating” some of these “oppressed’ nations. When terrorists decide to crash planes into two very prominent and important buildings in America’s economy and culture it gives the opportunity for America to doubt in itself. We cannot simply stand by and allow terrorists to degrade and demoralize our own country. By allowing terrorists to degrade America it not only says to the world that we do not care, but also tells citizens of “oppressed” nations that it is okay to just stand there and take it while terrorists push anyone they want around.
Moreover, American’s must remember that terrorism takes place on a day to day basis in our own country. Journalists and critics like Andreas allow us to doubt our own government. Joel Andreas writes in his essay “In order to fund the new war effort, Congress has abandoned efforts to avoid budget deficits and preserve Social Security funds” (Andreas 748). Even if what Andreas says is true, is it not important that America takes a stand against those that hurt our economy and strip away culture? If America just stands by and allows people bomb, terrorize, and demoralize everything that our country stands for it won’t matter if we have Social Security because by the time our current Social Security runs out there won’t be any Americans left. If we just stand there and let other nations walk all over Americans then what is to stop them from just taking over America itself one day? It’s not entirely impossible. Even though we as Americans have the right to freedom of speech, we should be careful what we say. People like Andreas or Michael Moore are what will eventually be the “last straw” that will cause our country, our way of life, and our government to crumble.
As Beveridge states; “Would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, humane, civilizing government of this (America’s) Republic to the savage, bloody rule of pillage and extortion from which we have rescued them?” (Beveridge 711) We are in fact “rescuing” Iraq and Saudi Arabia from what they are or will become. People are dying on a daily basis for beliefs that are not their own. America, and the rest of the world, has an obligation to step up and show these people that there is a better way to live their lives.
America is liberating other countries from things that are unjust and seriously degrade the state that this world is currently in. There should be no debate as to what is just or unjust; it should be the right of any human being to live the life that they want to live. No matter what nation one lives in he/she should at least have the right to do whatever he/she chooses, when they want to do it. If one wants to own property he/she should be able to do it. If a female wants to work in a male dominated career field, she should be allowed to do this. If someone from a non-American country wants to live the “American dream” they should be allowed to do so. People are dying all over the world for unethical reasons and it is the responsibility of all of the nations of the world to take a stand for what is just. If nobody takes a stand against terrorists the world will fall to ruin.
