Who Are the Real 'Isolationists'?by
Bill Barnwell Those of us who regularly oppose the State’s wars, and most of their excuses for their wars, are regularly branded "isolationists." Isolationism is continually denounced by the mainstream Left and Right. Isolationism is said to be bad for America. The image of the isolationist country is one that boxes itself away from the civilized world, turns a blind eye to injustice, and basically just takes its toy train and plays in the corner by itself. Isolationism would isolate America and weaken her standing in the international community. Is this prevailing perception of isolationism correct? And is it really the "isolationists" who are marginalizing America? The reality is that the opposite is true. It is the internationalists and hawks who have weakened America’s standing and they have hardly been a force for international stability. It is interesting that those who are skeptical to cheer on war with all of its massive spending, carnage, and destruction are the ones who are denounced in the most vicious of terms. Those who have spoken out against the current war have been called traitors, anti-American, ungrateful, and supporters of "the terrorists." As we look at the current situation in Iraq, last month alone more than 3,000 civilians were killed in various attacks. While the number of U.S dead soldiers continues to creep up slowly, the number of dead Iraqi’s, many of whom are innocents caught in the crossfire, is increasing at an exponential rate. And the Pentagon can call it whatever it wants, but Iraq is clearly degenerating into a civil war amongst warring factions. According to reports, President Bush is stunned that the current Iraqi Prime Minister and the general Iraqi people are not more grateful for all the U.S has done in Iraq. Iraqi couples continue to name their children after prominent terrorists who seek to kill U.S. soldiers. There is no real plan on how to stabilize the situation other than "stay the course" and cross our fingers that everything will eventually get better. If we failed to "stay the course" and decided to "cut and run," then we are told Iraq would fall into chaos. Has it not occurred to any hardliners that Iraq appears bent on civil war regardless of whether our troops are getting shot at or not? Resentment against the U.S in the Middle East and around the world continues to increase. Hatred of President Bush is the norm in most other countries. The number of dead and maimed increased on a daily basis. But who are the real enemies to American credibility? It’s the antiwar crowd, of course! The same group that warned against everything that is currently now happening in Iraq and around the world. In terms of forecasting, it has been the "isolationists" who have been way more accurate than the "they’ll throw roses at our feet" hawks who stubbornly refuse to ever admit that perhaps they were wrong. No, the answer is not to sit in a corner and suck our thumbs, and at least those of us Right-Libertarian "isolationists" are not really isolationists at all. We’ve never once promoted the idea of withdrawing from the world. That charge is patently false and dishonest. We simply believe that giving a people a taste of the free-market, the spread of wealth, the freedom of ideas, trade, etc. are more effective in changing countries than socialistic wars that destroy wealth, destroy lives, hinder free trade, and inflame global hatred. And, sorry Randians, I would add to that spiritual revival, though many of my Christian friends who still apparently haven’t shed the old medieval crusader mindset seem to be more infatuated with the idea of WWJB (Who Would Jesus Bomb) than WWJD. We believe as George Washington did. No entangling alliances, war with none if possible, and trade with all. The United States is indeed a great country and instead of being viewed internationally as a belligerent schoolyard bully, we should use our power, wealth, influence, and ideas to promote trade, peace and stability. I understand that these are hippy words to the "realists" who believe that protectionist sanctions and destructive wars are the only way to change society, but we see what a truly great job they’ve done since the end of World War II and how they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge reality in the present. Speaking of World War II, hawks love to point out that if we embraced "isolationism" in the early 1940’s that we’d all be speaking German now. Perhaps they all forget that it was the hawkish internationalists in the great powers that caused the first bloody and useless Great War which laid the foundations for the rise of Hitler and Stalin. How much blood was spilt and how much evil manifested itself in great part to the policies of the War Party? Today, our political lexicon has its terms all mixed up. Supposedly it is the "isolationists" who want to withdraw from the world, who don’t have the best interests of the soldiers in mind, who promote destabilization and who are ignorant to the facts of the "real world." The interventionists, on the other hand, are seen as the brave forces for good who want to make the world a better place. Ironically, the latter group also loves conflict, economic sanctions, fear and perpetual war for perpetual peace. Never mind the fact that the antiwar free-market libertarian types (not to be confused with the "mainstream," er, DC-blessed war libertarians) are the ones who are truly arguing for real global interaction that would promote wealth, peace, trade, and safety. But according to the warhawks, it's the peace crowd who are really the true enemies here, not the ones who have led us into all the never-ending chaos and have inflamed global hatred against our country.
August 23, 2006 Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor in Flushing, Michigan. He has completed a Master of Ministries degree and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. Copyright © 2006 LewRockwell.com |
In
the minds of the War Party, none of that matters. The only way to
avoid the isolationist label is to bless the rulers of the State
and all their wars. It’s time for the true internationalists to
reclaim the label that is rightfully theirs and point out to the
public who is really the better friend of the terrorist recruiters.