Nikitha Mupparaju English 10 Mr. Hill 3/27/2018 U.S Involvement in Foreign Affairs Wedged in the middle of two oceans, the United States of America has long been isolated from other nations. As such, we adopted a foreign policy of isolationism and seclusion. In an increasingly connected and globalized world, this kind of behavior should be a relic of the past. The United States can no longer hide behind the veil of isolation to survive. It must evolve to become interdependent with the countries around it. After all, humans all have to live on the earth together. Financial and military involvement in foreign affairs will benefit the United States innumerably. One of the many ways the United States can help is by allowing the government to provide foreign aid and monetary assistance to the people and countries that need it. We have a moral responsibility to help those who can’t help themselves. The basis of democracy in the United States is equality, but this doesn’t mean equality just for U.S citizens. We need to spread access to equal education for women and clean drinking water. Instead of being bystanders to authoritarian and dictatorial governments, we should act! The United States of America should be extremely involved in foreign affairs to stop human rights abuses by other countries. A rich woman sees a man, pushing a stroller with a baby in it. As he walks by, a mugger leaps out and stabs the man, steals his wallet, and runs away. Instead of running over to help, she stares as he slowly bleeds to death in front of his child. She was a bystander to a horrible death and chose to do nothing. Unfortunately, the United States has ended up taking the role of a bystander to the countless number of atrocities committed by corrupted governments all over the world. A lack of U.S intervention has led to the death of an immeasurable number of innocent civilians. For instance, in El Salvador, hundreds of people were murdered by an oppressive regime. One woman, Rufin Amaya, recounted the massacre to New York Times reporter, Raymond Bonner, he wrote, “Somewhere amid the carnage were Mrs. Amaya's husband and family. Mrs. Amaya said she heard her son scream: “Mama, they're killing me. They've killed my sister. They're going to kill me.”” Instead of stopping this dictatorial regime, the United States decided to arm it with weapons instead. Sadly, this isn’t the only instance of blatant disregard for human rights violations. The Rwandan Genocide took the lives of thousands of people and the United States didn’t step in to stop this atrocious incident. Ignoring the plight of people can also have negative effects on the United States itself. The United States refused to help Latin American countries in the 1950s. In the Latin American Complaint of Neglect, the Latin American countries were offended by the lack of resources the U.S put towards helping them. Afterwards, the Latin American countries threatened to ally with the Soviets unless the U.S got involved. If those countries had actually allied with the Soviet Union, they could have become a danger to the United States. The United States should be involved in the affairs of the world because ultimately, we all live on the same planet and ignoring these abuses will be unbeneficial for everyone. A rich woman sees a man, pushing a stroller with a baby in it. As he walks by, a mugger leaps out and stabs the man, steals his wallet, and runs away. Instead of running over to help, she stares as he slowly bleeds to death in front of his child. After the incident, people ask her why she didn’t do anything. She explains that she didn’t want to get her clothes bloody by helping him because they were so expensive. Critics claim that spending money on other countries is a waste of resources and that the United States should spend money on domestic issues. Nationalistic views such as these have recently been on the rise. United States foreign policy is ineffective in dealing with situations abroad. Stevie Sacks illustrated this in his political cartoon of Cuba. The image shows a broken-down police car and a broken-down car, unmoving. This demonstrates the lack of progression from the Cold War against Cuba. It illustrates that the foreign policy is useless and that it isn’t helping or hurting anyone. They also claim that poverty and hunger in the United States should be solved first. If we spend too much money on foreign countries, we won’t have enough money for ourselves. Opponents of foreign and military aid also argue that helping other countries doesn’t benefit the United States itself and assert that there should be a more global approach to stopping human rights abuses. A rich woman sees a man, pushing a stroller with a baby in it. As he walks by, a mugger leaps out and stabs the man, steals his wallet, and runs away. The woman runs over to help and calls and ambulance. The man is forever grateful for saving him and preventing his child from being an orphan. They keep in touch and years later when the woman had fallen on hard times, the man helps her and gives her money. What the critics seem to ignore is that the United States does benefit from helping remove dictators and providing foreign aid. Helping stabilize foreign countries opens them up to trade which is a good economic benefit. Assisting them also makes the United States a more respected country in the eyes of the world. A global approach may be necessary, but it should be led by the United States. The United Nations has long been ineffective in stopping genocides and dictators. Trying to balance the needs of the 200 different countries in the U.N means that creating resolutions is a strenuous and time-consuming process. The United States can establish a precedent and show the world that human rights abuses will not be tolerated. The United States has the most powerful military in the world, and it can afford to spend a little extra on foreign aid. Helping other countries will also motivate them to help the United States if we are ever in need. The United States could be in need of assistance in the future, and countries that were helped by the U.S might be more likely to aid in a time of need. There is also a moral responsibility for the United States to be active in the world. Tyrannical governments all over the world treat the people in their countries terribly. One occurrence of this happened in In the Time of the Butterflies. “Explosion after explosion ripped the air. The house shook to its very foundation. Windows shattered, smoke poured in with a horrible smell... The shelling happened in a flash, but it seemed the chaos went on for hours. I heard moans, but when I lowered my chair, I could make out nothing in the smoke-filled room. My eyes stung, and I realized that in my fear I had wet my pants.” In this instance, the government was bombing this church retreat. People died and it mentally scarred Patria for life. The lack of United States intervention means that these kinds of bombings happened all over the Dominican Republic. There is a moral responsibility that is not being fulfilled by the United States in this situation. So, it should be more active in stopping these kinds of human rights abuses. A rich woman sees a man, pushing a stroller with a baby in it. That woman is respected and admired by people she because of her active role in the community. She is a hard-worker and never gives up on trying to make the world a better place. The United States is not just a country, it’s a symbol of freedom and democracy. It’s the United States’ moral responsibility to stop human rights abuses by other countries. We should be open to offering humanitarian and militaristic aid to countries and people who need support. There are problems within the United States, but they are nothing compared to the suffering of millions across the world, struggling to survive. World leaders need to unite against these abuses. Allowing dictatorial regimes to exist is extremely hypocritical of the United States’ own goals. First and foremost, we need to remember that we are people, not Americans or Europeans or Latin Americans, we are people. Citations Bonner, Raymond Special to the New York Times. “MASSACRE OF HUNDREDS REPORTED IN SALVADOR VILLAGE.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Jan. 1982, www.nytimes.com/1982/01/27/world/massacre-of-hundreds-reported-insalvador-village.html?pagewanted=all. “Summary Evaluation.” REPORT ON LATIN AMERICA. United States. Office of the Historian. May 21, 1958. Alvarez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1994. Sack, Steve. Cuba Policy. Star Tribune, 2014.
