A discussion of Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and their disagreement on foreign policy. Santorum is describe as exhibiting Jingoism. by Fearless Citizen
(libertarian)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Today, I am introducing you to a new word: Jingoism. I watched the CNN/Tea Party Republican Debate last night and was shocked by Rick Santorum's extreme position on Muslims. Here are Santorum's comments that he made in response to Ron Paul's explanation of militarism and real defense spending:
"On your website, on 9/11, you had a blog post that basically blamed the United States for 9/11. On your website, yesterday, you said that it was our actions that brought about the actions of 9/11. Now, Congressman Paul, that is irresponsible. If someone is running for the President of the United States in the Republican Party should not be parroting what Obama bin Laden said on 9/11. We are not being attacked, and we were not attacked because of our actions. We were attacked, as Newt talked about, because we have a civilization that is antithetical to the civilization of the Jihadists, and they want to kill us because of who we are and what we stand for. And we stand for American exceptionalism, we stand for freedom and opportunity for everybody around the world and I am not ashamed to do that."
In my opinion, Santorum is flat-out wrong on this subject. One should ask themselves why we can't believe and understand what Osama bin Laden wrote. I read the translated letter written by bin Laden and it was explicit, clear, and sincere in that they don't like us because we meddle in their affairs and and we occupy their lands. This viewpoint is also backed up by the former CIA expert on bin Laden, Michael Scheuer. Mr. Scheuer has written on this subject in two books. There is significant evidence that our governments involvement in the Middle East, for years, has led to a dislike of us. There are many Middle Easterners who hold the view that Americans want to control their lands and exploit their resources through military occupation and intimidation.
Why can't Santorum understand this? His eyes are blinded and his ears deafened when it gets in the way of his Jingoism. Jingoism is defined by Merriam Webster as: "extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy."This is exactly what Santorum suffers from.
I know that this hurts the pride of a lot of Americans, but we cannot continue to occupy countries in the Middle East and not expect Muslims to resent our military presence. We must face the facts and understand that we cannot continue to say "We have the moral high ground". I do not believe that we are perfect, yet Santorum does. He lives in a fantasy land where American leaders and policymakers do no wrong. That my friends is not reality. To believe so, in my opinion, is naive.
If a majority decide to nominate someone who has the same mentality as Santorum, our country will continue to experience decline. We are not only being attacked in a physical manner, but also economically. We have been in the Middle East for years and we continue to lose loyal, patriotic soldiers and for every second, minute, hour, or day that the lucky ones continue to stay there, our government drives our national debt skyward and destroys the futures of our children and grandchildren. We are on the road to defeat, but many just won't accept it. I want to get off that road and chart a new course to peace and prosperity.
Please, do not fall prey to Jingoism.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 5
thumbs so far
The views expressed
in this article are those of Fearless Citizen only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Fearless Citizen is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Posted By: trd
Date: September 20, 2011 10:01:42 PM
I think Santorum DOES KNOW that Paul is right and he is playing politics to discredit his opponent Paul by spinning the truth which makes him even WORST.
