| It's
China's Backyard
-Frank
Salvato
President Bush said
he expected the Korean Peninsula to be "nuclear weapons free,"
and expressed his belief that our allies were working discreetly to pressure
North Korea to reverse their decision to augment its arms program with
the admission of nuclear weapons into its arsenal. "I know they're
not reluctant when it comes to the idea of nuclear weapons on the Korean
Peninsula," he said from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "And
we are in constant contact with the Japanese and the South Koreans and
the Chinese and the Russians."
One would think that if a part-time madman were developing nuclear weapons
of mass destruction just across the northeastern border of a super-power’s
country that they would take an aggressive and active part in disarming
the guy, especially if there were a billion people living
in that country!
Looking at this situation which finds North Korea and the Kim Jong II
regime continuing on with their nuclear development in blatant disregard
for the accords which they agreed to, I believe that it is the perfect
time for the United States to hand off some of it’s “world’s
policeman” duties to others who wield influence around the world,
namely China.
One has to give thought to the fact that maybe it isn’t so much
the United States pushes its values onto other cultures in as much as
it is the reluctance of other countries to step up to the plate and take
a stand for the simpler things that we all know are right. Is it correct
for Third-World, self-appointed dictators who simply amass a rag-tag group
of thugs and arm them to put on store bought uniforms and commit genocide
on the African continent? Is it acceptable for a rebel regime to acquire
arms through the black market and keep an entire country’s people
hostage to their fundamental and extreme religious beliefs while they
execute women for venturing out of their homes to shop without having
a related male to escort them? Is it okay to simply invade a neighboring
country to covert the natural resources of their country? No. The answer
to all of these questions is no. But strangely enough, when you look at
the international community, even through the United Nations, it may not
always be only the United States that stands up and say that these situations
are unacceptable but it is always only the United States that puts its
own people on the line when it comes to backing up the objection with
the use of overwhelming force if necessary.
Some people would say that it is the obligation of a super-power to help
the smaller less developed countries in time of crisis, to help guard
them against rogue nations whose mentally questionable leaders view power
as a basic right. To that statement I say that I agree. It is the obligation
of countries that have achieved the level of super-power status and those
who are leaders of the world community to give assistance and aid to those
who are less fortunate than they are. This is true whether it be a country
or simply an individual. But when the entire world community keeps calling
upon the generosity of the same country all the time it is easy to see
why those who do not get the lion’s share of the aid would become
bitter. It is easy to see how those aren’t the beneficiaries of
the kindness doled out by countries who have the ability to help would
be ripe for the kinds of bribery and manipulation that would-be dictators
have to offer. With that thought kept in mind can anyone argue that perhaps
this is some of the reason why so many smaller, less developed Third-World
countries harbor ill will toward the United States?
It is time for other developed nations to embrace their responsibility
on the world stage. The North Korean situation should be of paramount
concern to the leaders of China and the United States should let the Chinese
government take the lead in defusing the situation while keeping a cautious
eye on the matter. More developed nations such as Germany, France, Japan,
Russia, and an assortment of others whose economies are more stable than
most should help shoulder the burden of economic aid that is required
through out the Third-World. This can be easily done through the United
Nations. It is the moral obligation of each country’s government
to extinguish notions of hatred that may exist within their country whether
it is for a religion, a sexual orientation, a nationality or a political
belief.
Simply put, it is time for the leading countries of the world to step
up to the plate and start shouldering their part of the burden of being
the moral conscience of the world or “the watchful eye”. Perhaps
then the world will see that it isn’t necessarily all about the
culture of the United States being imposed onto another country’s
culture or the arrogance of the United States or the foreign policy of
the United States that attracts the ire of the wicked, the mentally unstable
or the purely evil, rather it is the price that is paid by those who would
protect those who are unable to protect themselves. Perhaps then they
will see the true essence of the people of the United States and that
the good will of the American people completely outweighs the false perception
of greed which some of the people of the world view us.
So, China, the ball is in your court.
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