America’s increasing interference in international business is nothing new. America has a rich history of butting their heads into the affairs of countries abroad. The goal of increasing welfare and improving human rights around the globe is one with good intentions, but there comes a point where it goes too far. When tax dollars are sucked up by foreign affairs that most citizens are not even well educated on—or in some cases: not even aware of—a line needs to be drawn. America paints itself to be this huge heroic superpower, but in reality, can barely manage the welfare of its own citizens. America has its own problems to deal with, yet it continues to intervene in the matters of others and usually ends up doing more harm than good.
War is not free. The amount of tax dollars demanded from American citizens every hour amounts to over $1.5 trillion (Cost of National Security). America’s unhealthy obsession with solving everyone’s problems but their own is draining the pockets of the people it is ultimately trying to protect. The upper and lower class divides are becoming larger than ever. The middle class is dwindling. Taxes are on the rise, inflation is on the rise, and yet the average American is making less money than ever. America needs to focus its attention on domestic issues before things get worse. America needs to come together and decide which issues are worth devoting its limited resources to. And that cannot happen until people are happier on the home front.
International intervention has long been a subject of controversy. The most recent being America’s presence in the Middle East fighting the terrorist group ISIS. While ISIS is a huge issue that needs to be dealt with, the U.S. is going about it in all of the wrong ways. A recent massive airstrike, which had been described to the masses as an offensive tactic necessary to break down ISIS’s defense, had conveniently managed to destroy an “unrelated cell of veterans of Al Qaeda” (DeYoung). The militants behind this attack have utterly overstepped their boundaries in order to push their own personal vengeful agenda. These missiles could have been much better allocated. I am a firm believer in non-violence, and while defensive tactics are necessary for protections, unwarranted offensive attacks are not.
This is only one of many times that America has overstepped their authority in matters abroad. The United States of America was founded as a democratic system in which each citizen is allowed to vote and voice their opinion on important national matters. The New York Times conducted a poll regarding the matter of foreign affairs, and it revealed that “nearly six in 10 people said the United States should not take a leading role among all other countries in trying to solve conflicts” (Landler). A majority of Americans agree that conflicts between other nations should not be a concern of theirs. The government is simply not listening to what its citizens are saying.
Instead of focusing so much time and effort in becoming a national superpower, the American government needs to reel themselves back in and focus on the domestic issues at hand. The U.S. needs to realize that not every problem is theirs to solve. The downward direction that welfare and the economy are taking are serious problems that must be dealt with. Ignoring the cracks within the nation’s system and stretching resources too thin is just straining the economy further. While assisting countries that are in need is a noble thing to do, America simply does not have the resources to do so right now. In order to efficiently help others, America needs to help itself first.
- “Cost of National Security.” National Priorities Project. National Priorities Project. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
- DeYoung, Karen. “U.S. Airstrikes Target Islamic State Militants in Northern Iraq.” The Washington Post 9 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014. .
- Landler, Mark. “Skepticism Over U.S. Involvement in Foreign Affairs.” The New York Times 7 June 2013, World sec.: A16. Print.
