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The United States Involvement in the World
Introduction
The United States has not been part of many activities that have been occurring in the world; choosing to exclude itself, staying impartial to the differences that were happening between nations and instead opting to remain in the confines of its border. This trend, however, changed in the late 19th century as the United States started to take part in some of the events and has since then the country engages in many land-marking incidents in the world such as protection of human rights, peaceful missions, and war. The government of United States has gone ahead to set policies that aim at supporting states that are in precarious positions and ensuring that humane conditions are accessible to citizens in all nations. To others, International law was set to make sure that governments and states should follow them ensuring that no one experiences a violation of their rights. This essay, therefore, examines what circumstances have motivated America into getting more involved in the world as from the 19th century and how their involvement manifests itself overseas. It also tries to explain what role United States has in the world.
America’s involvement in other county’s political and economic problems has received mixed reception in both domestic and international with many accepting the participation of United States as a positive step towards the achievement of international cooperation and improvement of relationships and understanding between countries. However, it can be argued that the actions of United States government to be involved in all these situations has brought negative consequences to the economy, social and security of the United States. The reason is that the increase in the economic burden that the country has to bear with facilitating wars in other nations, loss of much military personnel and the fear improving on the security state of the country.
Motivation for Involvement
Occurrences of war and the motivation to achieve peace has been a great motivator for the United States to get involved with the events occurring around the world. The war between Britain and Germany affected the trade between Germany and USA and instead increased trade with Britain and France, increasing the relationship between these nations. Therefore Germans set out to go to war with the United States at sea prompting it come out of isolation and try to defend itself from the attacks. This development, therefore, led to the beginning of World War I. According to President Woodrow Wilson, the United States decided to enter the war because of the violation of the rights of her citizens and a disruption of their lives. The issue prompted the need for an action to be taken to resolve this and make the environment safe again not only for the American people but also for the whole world who were in need of peace. The United States has therefore continued to be involved in many other wars such as the Vietnam War in which United States involvement appeared as a way of reducing the level of hostility in Vietnam.
Violation of human rights both in the United States and around the world has also been a great motivator of the increased presence of United States in international matters. President Roosevelt gave a speech addressing the four freedoms and rights stating that it is important for Americans to be involved in the democracy of Europe through sacrifices and paying taxes to fund military personnel activities which contribute to freedom around Europe and the world. This assistance extends to the country’s foreign policy that aims at giving assistance to all democratic nations that have either external or internal threats. Political, military and economic aid that the United States offers has ensured that it is involved in regional conflicts that it would have withdrawn from and has also granted U.S national security. For the United States to get an upper hand in events such as the cold war, the government insisted on using psychological warfare. The intention was to change the minds of many Americans and ensuring that they support the foreign policy of protecting other nations to maintain the security of the state.
The use of scholarship to encourage interaction between students appeared as a way to exchange cultures and comparing that of Americans while the involved students learn of the difficulties and problems that other states face. This development looked like an action that was going to encourage international good-will. Students' attitude before the scholarship changed since they got a clear understanding of foreign affairs to foster internationalism. Change in their stereotypic perceptions such as being able to handle their affairs was replaced by the sense of cooperation without her people while the spread of American culture was viewed as a continuous process.
Americans also had a negative attitude towards race due to increased discrimination of people based on their skin color. This lead to international criticism of United States culture in handling race relations since the community had not fully accepted and included the black Americans into the system. This status, however, changed, and every child despite his or her race received a chance for equal education and a chance of equal opportunity. The civil rights movement greatly influenced the change that aimed in ensuring that every person got equal rights despite their race which in turn led to many people flourishing and change in the international perception of United States being racist. Amending the attitudes of countries towards racism has also motivated the United States into pushing for reforms in countries that still have high cases of racism.
The purpose of involving military personnel in many disputes is to ensure that the situation in these foreign countries resolves and justice does prevail. However, the involvement of United States in political, social and economic issues internationally has come under a lot of criticism due to the many concerns that raised. Despite the belief that Americans have a role to play in promoting liberty and democracy, some of the missions have lacked domestic support. The reason is that the community is usually concerned about the cost on the economy, due to sending military personnel into foreign disputes, has in the country. To many Americans, this is a costly process to the nation economically and socially. Domestic commitment is necessary if a country is going to win the war as it provides the backbone of the war and strategies to be made. The society usually provides funds used during the war through taxes and by also ensuring that there is a constant supply of military supply from the population. The war in Vietnam led to many deaths of United States Army forces which contributed to American community not supporting the mission. The constant opposition of the Vietnam Communist despite the continued opposition from American forces and lack of domestic support, therefore, contributed to losing this war. Many activists such as Martin Luther opposed the action stating in his speech that the Vietnam War had contributed to the loss of lives of many men and especially those of the black race. It was, therefore, important for the government to stop helping the Vietnam community and protect American soldiers. This development proves that the view of America on certain issues that it thinks it is on the right does not necessarily mean that the international community supports it. It is important to understand the view of the community involved in deploying military personnel. This factor contributed to changes in the foreign policy.
The economic stability of the country is a concern. The reason is that many business people and farmers were forced to make changes in their livelihood either in their machinery or their produce due to stabilized economic conditions in Europe which in turn caused a burden to the financial status of United States. Involving of United States in most of the foreign disputes has contributed to the concern about the security of the country due to retaliation attacks. International law was therefore set up to ensure that states follow the right procedure when handling conflicts and avoid the world into sinking into another global war. Many of these foreign disputes usually occur in states that democracy does not prevail therefore contributing to inhumane situations and conditions that lead to crimes against humanity, injustice, and death in which if no actions are taken then many people in the world end up suffering. Despite the concerns that arise from deploying United States military personnel to these disputed areas, the action is deemed necessary on the objective of saving lives and ensuring that peace prevails in these countries. Ensuring that every individual has protection from selfish interest and aggression is a step in ensuring that there is no violation of rights and that the environment that we live in is peaceful. This idea means that justice is practiced, and therefore every individual is given a chance to grow and prosper.
Despite the concerns that arise, it is important for the United States to keep on supporting nations that are in conflict since this will ensure that world peace prevails and that every state has the freedom to navigate its territories while ensuring that there is political and economic stability. The United States has been able to break out from the safety of its physical boundary and gone ahead to establish itself as a nation that protects its edges. The country also fights for nations that do not have the manpower and resources to do it for themselves ensuring that disputes are resolved and do not end up with devastating consequences.
Conclusion
The involvement of United States in foreign conflicts has received mixed results with some people not entirely convinced that the burden that the state has to bear is more than that they gain by excluding themselves from the war. The reason is that such involvement has led to economic strain, loss of lives and property. Disputes arise from actions of governments and individuals that try to protect and fulfill their needs, and it is, therefore, necessary for able military personnel to stop them and ensure that peace is the order of the day. International laws have been set to ensure that peace is maintained and therefore encourage economic and political stability.
