timschochet
Footballguy
It outrages me that this should even be a topic for political discussion, but thanks to Trump it is.
From 1949 to 2018, the North Atlantic Treaty has essentially kept the peace of the world and prevented a third world war, which, given nuclear weapons, would likely mean the end of human civilization as we know it. During almost all of that time, the principles of the NATO alliance were respected by Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative alike in this country almost without exception- every once in a while you might hear extreme isolationist voices, such as from Pat Buchanan on the right or Noam Chomsky on the left, decrying the value of NATO, but these were exceedingly rare.
The principles of NATO go back to Winston Churchill's concept of a post-war alliance of the United States and western Europe. In a famous debate with Eleanor Roosevelt, Churchill argued that such an alliance would secure world peace and prosperity. Eleanor Roosevelt, loyal to her husband and Woodrow Wilson's vision, believed that a strong United Nations and more aid to the third world would be more valuable. Between the two arguments, history clearly shows, IMO, that Churchill was the more correct. But it's important to note that neither of them even considered a return to isolationism or "America First"- they knew that, after World War II, that was impossible forever. It still is.
Donald Trump's viewpoint on this issue is extremist, stupid, and a threat to our national security and to the security of the world. That is not hyperbole. Of all of Trump's moves since taking office, this one is arguably the most profoundly dangerous to our future well-being. (It is also largely to the short term benefit of Vladimir Putin's Russia, though I would argue not long term even for them.)
This shouldn't be a liberals vs. conservatives debate. If you're either of those, you should be agreeing with me. If you don't, then I invite you to come in and defend what Trump is doing. Myself, I find it indefensible.
From 1949 to 2018, the North Atlantic Treaty has essentially kept the peace of the world and prevented a third world war, which, given nuclear weapons, would likely mean the end of human civilization as we know it. During almost all of that time, the principles of the NATO alliance were respected by Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative alike in this country almost without exception- every once in a while you might hear extreme isolationist voices, such as from Pat Buchanan on the right or Noam Chomsky on the left, decrying the value of NATO, but these were exceedingly rare.
The principles of NATO go back to Winston Churchill's concept of a post-war alliance of the United States and western Europe. In a famous debate with Eleanor Roosevelt, Churchill argued that such an alliance would secure world peace and prosperity. Eleanor Roosevelt, loyal to her husband and Woodrow Wilson's vision, believed that a strong United Nations and more aid to the third world would be more valuable. Between the two arguments, history clearly shows, IMO, that Churchill was the more correct. But it's important to note that neither of them even considered a return to isolationism or "America First"- they knew that, after World War II, that was impossible forever. It still is.
Donald Trump's viewpoint on this issue is extremist, stupid, and a threat to our national security and to the security of the world. That is not hyperbole. Of all of Trump's moves since taking office, this one is arguably the most profoundly dangerous to our future well-being. (It is also largely to the short term benefit of Vladimir Putin's Russia, though I would argue not long term even for them.)
This shouldn't be a liberals vs. conservatives debate. If you're either of those, you should be agreeing with me. If you don't, then I invite you to come in and defend what Trump is doing. Myself, I find it indefensible.