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Page Title:
Great Message Email (Isolationism)
by Bill Sanders - May 15, 2006
Page last updated/all links last verified July 25, 2006
Originally published in an email to family on 05/11/2006
NOTE: This page Under Construction/Conversion
This page has not been completely converted to OFPv2 Standards.
When this is completed, this paragraph will go away.
Meanwhile, all external links on this page open a new window.
This piece was inspired by the email, making the rounds at this time, entitled "Great Message". The earliest I could find this email "on the web" was 04/2003. The text of that email is in the white box, below. Some of the more interesting links including the email follow it, and my commentary follows that.
WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?
My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has been completed.
Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.
This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq. This action will be complete within 30 days.
It is now to begin the reckoning.
Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short. The United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there.
The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.
Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.
The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell-holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.
Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France!
In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home.
On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.
Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France, or maybe China.
I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon chance, mesamis.
I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York
A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2 Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.
Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra tank and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put em? Yep, border security. So start doing something with your oil.
Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting now.
We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we'll be drilling for oil in Alaska - which will take care of this country's oil needs for decades to come. If you're an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there. They care.
It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, "darn tootin."
Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. It is time to eliminate World Cup Soccer from America.
To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thanks guys. We owe you and we won't forget.
To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.
God bless America! Thank you and good night.
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.
(Please forward this to at least ten friends and see what happens! Let's get this to every USA computer!)
Other places on the 'net to find this
NOTE: These are not the only places this item can be found. In some cases, it simply appears as above on its own page. The following included comments and follow-ups, so I thought they should be noted here.
The earliest I've been able to find this on the 'net was 04/19/2003, published in the Daily Times from Pakistan at Daily Times (Pakistan)- Site Edition [Site now requires a free subscription. It didn't when I originally linked to it -bs 07/25/2006]. It was touted as "What follows is the text of a presidential address to be given by President Bush on July 4, 2003. The source of this material remains highly confidential."
Here it's quoted as being by "Tommy Gunn" (yeah, right), even though the link says it's by "Jim Crowley" (another yeah, right) - Nevada City Free Press - "by Jim Crowley My fellow Americans".
On the message board at A speech some wish Bush would make.... [Archive] - The Conversation Cafe Forums, it was posted 09/01/2004. All found it "repulsive", "offensive", "drivel", and a few other adjectives, though most agree with getting our soldiers out of Iraq. One poster DOES point out:
The US is wealthy because of trade. We are well off because we can buy products that others make cheaper or better than we do, and sell products we make cheaper or better to other countries. Cutting off trade is cutting off our nose to spite our face.
Cutting off diplomatic relations and foreign aid to Russia is even worse. Do we really want the only country in the world that has enough nukes specifically dedicated to wiping the US off the face of the map not talking to us and hungry?
Good stuff on Illegals AND the above. Again, most don't really agree with the above - » The Greatest Presidental Speech » The Hoffman’s Hearsay » Hearing What is Said and Spewing It Back Better and Funnier. Other articles on the blog include a description of the process to enter Mexico to live and work for a time (see » And Some Say WE Are Hard On Immigrants? » The Hoffman’s Hearsay » Hearing What is Said and Spewing It Back Better and Funnier). And "they" think OUR TEMPORARY immigrants have a hard time? GEEZE! Read what this guy and his wife had to go through to work there for a couple of years. [If it's true!]
Many sites state this as a General George Patton speech as this one does: If Patton was President
NOTE: While I DO NOT AGREE with all of the posters' comments, some appear to have done plenty of research. My commentary on this matter follows.
Commentary
Well...
There are plenty of sites that exhort US isolationism in the world and many that simply put this item up as a piece of humor. While it might be nice to think that we could do this in this day-and-age, it would not serve the United States well to do so. As the only remaining "super-power" in the world, but with many nations (some friends, some "so-called" friends and enemies) having nuclear capabilities (if not bombs themselves), we need to keep our surveillance active, and stay friends with those who are such, so they can help us know what our other friends and enemies are doing.
"Isolationism"? Uh... Didn't we try that to a certain extent? I mean, after the Vietnam War, we pretty much sat back and let the world go by, with the occasional military help to some peoples of the world. What happened? Well:
- drugs began flowing across our borders like water through a sieve
- can I just say one word "Rwanda"? (Genocide - Rent and see the movie for a small part of what happened)
- more single words, Grenada, Kosovo, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and hundreds of others (some related)
- Saddam used WMD gas on the Kurds
- US interests were attacked world-wide by growing numbers of terrorists, killing hundreds of US Citizens and their allies
- what if the Tsunami had happened while we were so "isolated"? Wouldn't it have broken us out of our shells?
- how 'bout Katrina/New Orleans? (Well, it seems we're trying to take care of as much of that situation ourselves, without help from any other government, friend or foe, of which both types offered help in some way. Therefore, we're "isolationists" when it comes to OUR OWN problems, even though others have been through the same situation and could help ... But, is that really a "good thing"?)
And, when we kept to our "isolationism" and only trained and supplied people who needed our help (read "bin Laden" among others), leaving them when our "contract was up" rather than making sure they were successful in doing what we were arming/training them for, what happened? Some people we stopped helping have become enemies, because of the struggles our lack of help has caused. Hell, we were attacked off and on US soil even before 9/11/2001. THEN, add 9/11 to the mix. No one knows what would have happened if we had NOT been so isolated,
If we leave Iraq and that area of the world now, we will not have just a bunch of fanatic lunatics wanting to destroy us, but the whole of Iraq and other countries.
So, "Isolationism" isn't the answer.
If we hadn't done ANYTHING AT ALL (as extolled in this email), the majority of Americans themselves would rise up and complain that we needed to do something to help in most, if not all, of the situations listed above.
Damned if you do and Damned if you don't.
[Originally, in this spot, I had included points about domestic problems that America "should and MUST" address, if we isolate ourselves or not. This piece could "stand alone", and I've now separated it into another article called "US Domestic Issues". Please read it before you go on.]
Yes. There are plenty of "domestic issues" to keep us busy if we were isolated from the rest of the world. Even with all of the above (see article), we are still THE remaining "super-power" in the world. The person, company, country "on top" is ALWAYS a target - someone is always trying to "bring them down" to their level or below. While I don't agree that we need to "stick our noses" in everyone's business and try to make the world Democratic, it would be nice if they were.
There's a saying that says "Can't we just agree to disagree"? So, why can't we (as a world)?
Isolationism will not work. We need to be friends to everyone. We need to rectify injustices. This doesn't mean to make everyone in the world like us, just to stop trying to destroy us (and we them). We need to educate the world on what (false) propaganda is and not use it ourselves. (I understand that Mexican children are taught that the USA "stole" an area of our country from them. If this is true, are they kidding? Purchases and wartime agreements set the borders. Are they trying to make America/Mexico another Israel/Palestine?)
The majority of the people who dislike us ("hate" is too powerful of a word, though there are those... When they need help, who is one of the first countries they call?) do so because of our freedoms.
If so many dislike us, why are so many wanting to come to America (legally or illegally), and why are so many trying to become Americans?
by Bill Sanders © May 15,
2006 - email:
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