Aren't we getting a bit far afield?
Why shouldn't we downsize our military? Isn't a standing army a danger to Liberty? Do we really need an Navy, after all, we have airplanes now? Do the Marines do anything the Army couldn't? And Why do we need a whole service to guard our Coasts? From who? Etc. ETC. ETC!
Note: I consider the above to be sarcasm.
The only problem we, as a nation have in world relations is the fact that both we and the rest of the world contain people. People with widely differing views on virtually everything, from the value of human life to what is or is not the proper way to worship God. People who will, without a second thought trample the rights of others for profit. And by profit I mean more than just money. Americans tend to focus more on money, but not everyone else does. And that is another point of friction. Too many of the rest of the world's people's only understanding of Americans is from contact with certain businessmen, our military, and since the age of satellite TV, our video entertainment. And that is one huge problem that for the most part, we fail to recognize. If all you knew about the American way of life came from the crap that we put on the air in our dramas and sitcoms, odds are you wouldn't like us very, Heck, I wouldn't either. We are showing the world that all we are is a bunch of amoral, greedy, sex fiends, without a care for anything beyond getting what we want, when we want it. And what we seem to want is to cheat people and laugh about it, sleep with everyone and anyone, and insult anyone with values different from that. This is not a good image to show to the rest of the world. It is not a good image to show to our children, or even ourselves, but in the US, it sells. So we keep doing it.
And I haven't even mentioned the violence.
Obama will cut the military, given the chance. No doubt in my mind. How much, and how far, only time will tell, but one thing is certain. At some later date, we will have a need for something we did away with, and will cry and moan that "if only" we hadn't, we would be fine now.
We have become "stuck" playing world cop. Yep, but it is something we sought. Today you can look at it and say, we shouldn't be doing this, but consider the point of view of those who set it up. Men who lived through WWII. Men who believed that not being the world cop led us to having to be the world cop in order to stop men like Hitler, Tojo, & Mussolini. That only the clear willingness to spend both our money and our blood would contain others with similar desires, and do it before it became necessary to have a World War in order to stop them. I would love to see us go back into our shell, relinquish those foreign entanglements. Stop being the world cop, tell the UN to find a new country to pay for their hare-brained social schemes, and just mind our own business as we peacably live our lives. We could so that (even though it would cost some very rich folks a lot of money, so they would do their best to prevent it). But sooner or later, something in the world would require us to come out of our shell and fight, just to preserve us. And it would cost. Cost like none has seen before.
Pay now, or pay later, and later comes with some horrendous interest!
