My fellow bloggers know what it is to declare ourselves in front of millions of people (well, traffic isn’t that high yet, don’t kid yourself Rock. All right, in front of many people). You get people that agree with you, those that disagree, those that love you, and those that hate you.
My blog has a special self-imposed standard on speaking the truth (okay all you dissenters, the truth as I see it). We seldom pronounce the truth in real life. We have to be diplomatic. We don’t want to offend. We don’t want people to think badly of us.
Yet, at this time in history, the world cries out for people to declare what is in their hearts, and the blogosphere is the place to do it. So, here goes, I’m going to be straight with you, as I always am:
If I were President, the five things I would do right now are:
1. Attack any country that supports terrorism against us. This includes Iran and Syria. I’d give them fair warning, and then, if they would not stop, I’d hit them massively. I would not invade, or get involved in a long, drawn-out Iraq-type war. Rather, I’d just crush them where it hurts the most, in their economies, oil fields, and infrastructure. I would not hesitate to do this, no matter who would not like us anymore, and I would not worry about retaliation. All of terrorism is funded. It is funded by oil-based economies with one natural resource. I’d brace myself for economic upheaval, but I’d accept this as the price for really winning the war on terror.
2. Send a mission on the scale of the Peace Corps to win the hearts and minds of young Muslims all over the world.
3. Do a Marshall Plan-type effort to get every homeless person in America into a program where they can lead lives with some dignity.
4. Open the floodgates of immigration once again to Europe, and to any person in the world who can contribute to America with his or her advanced education or technological skills, and so on. I would slam shut immigration to anyone who is not coming here to be American.
5. Actively recruit the brightest minds and warmest hearts in America to get over their prejudices against the right wing and the Republican Party and become true-believer conservatives. It is my contention that conservatism is the most humane and productive approach for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Whites, all races, all religions, young and old, male and female. They say that if you’re not liberal when you’re young, you don’t have a heart, and that if you’re not conservative when you’re older, you don’t have a brain. I think the truth is, at this point in history, if you’re not conservative, you don’t have a heart or a brain.
There, I’ve exposed myself to laughter, ridicule, and scorn. Now it's your turn. What would you do if you were President? Don’t be afraid. Be brave. Don’t hold back. Let your imagination run wild, and try to imagine that you could really effect your five actions.
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.) This Post’s Technorati Tags: President of the United States, chief executive, bloggers, blogosphere, terrorism, Syria, Iran, oil based economies, Peace Corps, young Muslims, immigration, right-wing, Republican Party, conservatism, truth
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7 comments:
Before I respond to this heavy question, there's something I wanted to bring up regarding your previous post. Other than the bits of info regarding terrorist groups, the one thing that caught my eye was this line:
"All these terrorist organizations are united by a hatred of foreigners in their countries. Their animosity towards the occupiers goes farther than xenophobia, however, including a desire to destroy the occupiers, and the societies that spawn them."
Hmmmm. Let's say the Chinese launch a massive invasion of the US, destroying 80% of the military and capturing the president. Half of your family in California was killed, you, with the other half flee across the burning Nevada desert into the Rocky Mountains to hide. Your home in LA is destroyed and your world is turned upside down. What would your feelings toward the Chinese be?
Would you be welcoming them with open arms (like the US assumes other ethnicities "should"), or would you be doing your part to resist the occupiers in armed conflict?
I won't even lie, I may be a bit of a pacifist, but I'd be a gun totin' partisan/rebel/insurgent/terrorist just like you would.
Now on to the good stuff. As president I would:
1. Recall 70% of the foreign aid the US government provides to other countries and spend 20% of that on education/youth programs, 15% on domestic job creation and the last 15% on college scholarships and 20% on mandated foreign exchange programs for high school students who have to travel abroad in order to graduate. One of the reasons the US has a major PR problem from Paris to Tokyo (and all stops in between) is that most Americans are ignorant of other cultures and societies and show it when they DO go abroad as adults.
2. Recall the tax breaks companies receive for outsourcing and toss that into research for finding new and alternative fuel sources.
3. Bring them boys home! It may seem like an "act of cowardice" but try telling that to the men and women (and their families) who have been injured, had their tours of duty extended, or eternally scarred by their experiences in combat. The military is for domestic defense, not international OFFENSE.
4. Instead of sending threats, I'd send diplomats to countries that are hostile to the US in an attempt to remedy the situations BEFORE sending out troops.
5. Legalize drugs and prostitution. Why not free up space in prison for the murderers and thieves who target others for crime? Laws never stop people who want to get high (or laid) from doing it so why spend the funds to arrest them and keep them locked up? I'd use that extra money for drug prevention programs in elementary schools (the one we have at our school is a fuckin joke!) and educate kids about the harm drugs do to their bodies and let them make the choice when they get older. Wait, that's how it works anyway right?
Hi Rock,
Very interesting post today (where do you come up with your content - I wonder if all you do is think about your blog when you're not actually at your PC, but then Im sure you're VERY active in (neo-)conservative affairs in your community!!) :)
Just wanted to drop you a line to say our few interactions have had me thinking over the past few days. I did a Politics degree a few years ago and although I think that the old dichotomies of right v left, liberal v conservative are no longer as useful as they once were (with people now being far more varied in how they identify themselves) I am running some interesting thoughts through my mind on some issues I havent really questioned in a while.
Where do I really stand on the war?
What is the solution when faced with such a drastically different and harmful model of the world?
How can we co-exist with mutual respect and relative peace and prosperity?
An interesting thought that came my way was "It's nice and in most case very applicable to take the stance of always looking for the good in people and doing our utmost to bring this out. To do the opposite is to invite a life of cynicism, pessimism and cycles of negative thinking and behaviour. HOWEVER (!), where does the line get drawn? Does the line need to exist?
Maybe I think it does... For instance, how would I react if a man came up and punches my girlfriend flat in the face? Would I look for the good in him and empathise with his behaviour being rooted in whatever his upbringing was/conditions were... Maybe after the event, however at the time I think Id be inclined to kick his lily white ass all the way into the hospital! :)
Maybe, there needs to be some situational appreciation for how we (and when I say we I mean people to the right AND the left) view the problems in the world.
Sometimes we get caught up in "the right see it this way" or "the left think it should be done like this"...? However maybe these debates are best had in times of peace and on issues outside of defence/foreign policy. Maybe when safety is involved common sense must rule. Now for me, I wouldnt put this to the right or the left (however Im sure you'd disagree!)... maybe there is a "third way" without sounding too Buddhist...
I know this isnt really answering your post (or maybe it is in a way)... however I just wanted to share my thoughts as its been our interactions that have provided the soil from which the seeds have sprung...
So maybe in a short attempt - If I was President what would I do...?
Well if I could put it into my own context of being Prime Minister (UK) what would I do... I would cancel this stupid f**** air security facade which is adding no value whatsoever and is a complete knee jerk which western governments love to persist in doing.
I wouldn't go on a rampage of all countries loosely associated with terrorism as this would
a) be unfeasible given the current resource stretch for both the US and UK
b) be the euqivalent of knocking down your neighbours shed for him to come back and find a pile in his garden which he didnt ask for out of his favourite little hideaway which he is now mightily pissed off about... plus it would spark off countless refugee crises adding to the already growing problem (real attack not shed destruction that is)
c) potentially spark off new coalitions/alliances that would form to commence World War III
What I would do is work with the UN to move towards a ten year vision for the planet. Something that has never been done but have a month where heads of state get together, spend time discussing what it is that is really important to each country and begin a dialogue of whether we really want to leave each other alone and pretend we are autonomous land masses/collectives as was the case in 1648 with Versailles (futile) or recognise how interdependent we are as nations and say @right, we are where we are, but if we could paint a picture figuratively speaking of where we'd want to be in 10 years time, what kind of relationships would we share... what would the global economy look like... how could we ensure security whilst allowing movement of people and resources... Lets focus on what we want to create and respect each others differences in the process...
Is that too lefty :)
Speak soon
Sean
#1 - I'd release to the public all of the cures for the major diseases that we've already discovered but just don't want to share.
#2 - I would close the flood gates to immigrants from all over the world, temporarily until we handle the whole "war on terrorism" thing. Get your house in order before you invite guests over.
#3 - I'm not sure what, but medicaid, health insurance, social security would need to be taken care of. Old people in our country are getting shafted and that doesn't bode well for the soon-to-be-old.
#4 - Corporal punishment in full effect. You steal, there goes a hand. You lie/purger, there goes your tongue, you rape, you get the picture.
#5 - All the pro-athletes and actors/entertainers that make millions and millions of dollars will be taxed as they are now, but a portion of those taxes will be forwarded to the charity of their choice. Mandatory. Share the wealth you greedy bastards.
1. Stop agricultural subsidies.
2. Abolish the Departments of Commerce and Education and the CIA. All useless buggers.
3. Hit Iraq with everything we've got (it's a lot.)
4. Destroy Iran, Syria, and Lebanon.
5. Prosecute leakers mercilessly.
6. Let all the Cubans who risk their lives getting to the US in. Close the borders to everyone else. This includes the Canadian border.
I selected 6 to see if you were counting.
If I were President:
1. Personally visit with the staffs of every governor within the first year of office.
2. Allow the governors of boarder states the power to redeploy their states' National Guardsmen to their international boarders.
3. Regualarly attend worship services, even if I had to establish a chapel on the Whitehouse grounds (for security reasons).
4. Do everything in my power to establish the human life ammendment as law [that is, to state the obvious: human life begins early in the womb, and a developing human life should not be terminated without due process].
5. Conference with every head of state in the world at least once in my first two years (before mid-term elections).
Rock,
I read your blog often, as it gives me insight into the conservative mind without the religious nut-stuff that so pervades most of your compadres.
I have posted a reply to this thought provoking question on my own blog with a call for other bloggers to pay it forward on their own blogs. Work schedule is too heavy right now to comment on more of your posts.
Betty
Thank you Betty B. for your nice compliments. I'll go to your blog and see it for myself.
Thanks.
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