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Saturday, September 13, 2014

On US

I don’t think America has anything to be ashamed of or apologize for with respect to what we have done for the rest of the world. Americans don’t want to be at war but, when you are, you can’t be soft about it. If you are—sometimes—you face situations you cannot deal with. We are in that situation now. Colin Powell once said, “There is nothing in American experience or in American political life or in our culture that suggests we want to use hard power.”

America never laid claim or dominion to any nation in Europe after the war. What other country can make that claim? Not many. Once the war was over, we helped rebuild those nations. We did the same thing in Japan. Yet, we still draw anger and hate from other countries in the world. Admittedly, a lot of that ire stems from perceived decadence in our lifestyles, exemplified by the actors, musicians, and politicians that have somehow become the face of our country. It took a terrorist group—using hard power—beheading and American journalist to get our president off the golf course long enough to read a strongly worded statement to a group that has threatened the safety of Americans on a number of occasions.

Now we are backed into a corner. Because of a soft administration. U.S. policy has changed. We make deals with terrorists. We try diplomacy with people who will never hear what we are saying. Diplomacy is a thing, and in many cases a good thing. But there is a time when words cease to inspire, when nations lose their resolve, when the world descends into war, and all that is left is the patriot's love for their country.

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