If there's something big I like in American foreign policy over the last century, it's the basic approach to Europe. I want it extended to the whole world.
Being the big overseas defensive ally to European democracy was a hugely important project. America made enemies correctly, intervened effectively, and made the world a better place. When everything went totally bonkers, we beat the Nazis (with the villainous help of Communists and dying Empires). We Marshall Planned the remnant democracies into a defensive alliance that held off the Communists until their internal contradictions make them Aufhebung into... Putin? We did kind of mess that up, but until a recent counterstrike, we were back on our game. Anyway, the general idea of holding together a defensive alliance of democracies was right and should be continued.
Asia, Africa, Latin America -- that's where the terrible stuff is. We did nonsense we'd never do in Europe. Helping dictators fight democracy, covering countries in land mines, getting a million people killed through harebrained military strategies... wait that's all just Cambodia. There's so many dead across the border, and then the sun never sets on our proxy wars and regime change wars.
And now is the point where your narrator pauses to note that things seem to be color-coded. America (don't know if I can say 'we' here for reasons having to do the intentions of the policy's architects, indexicals are weird) defended the white democracies. I mean, maybe America is on the right side sometimes, but I think it's worse than chance. And really, what can we expect? Half the country was running apartheid. Those allies from the Empires were used to treating people of color as inferior races and getting millions of them killed for no reason.
A good first step in ending gruesome racial injustice is: treat everyone how you treat the white people. It's institutionally easy to enact, as these things go, because you just have to generalize an existing policy. So the foreign policy framework I like for a possible Biden era is: let's be the big overseas allies to democracies everywhere.
We don't invade anybody, there's lots of humanitarian aid when someone needs it, and the economic and military might of the whole alliance is there to stop anyone from invading another democracy. We do treaties with each other too! Maybe an immigration treaty. Want in on this deal? Become a democracy. (Terms and conditions apply, offer void if you violate basic human rights / freedoms. All rational beings welcome, concern for your utility is guaranteed.)
Being the big overseas defensive ally to European democracy was a hugely important project. America made enemies correctly, intervened effectively, and made the world a better place. When everything went totally bonkers, we beat the Nazis (with the villainous help of Communists and dying Empires). We Marshall Planned the remnant democracies into a defensive alliance that held off the Communists until their internal contradictions make them Aufhebung into... Putin? We did kind of mess that up, but until a recent counterstrike, we were back on our game. Anyway, the general idea of holding together a defensive alliance of democracies was right and should be continued.
Asia, Africa, Latin America -- that's where the terrible stuff is. We did nonsense we'd never do in Europe. Helping dictators fight democracy, covering countries in land mines, getting a million people killed through harebrained military strategies... wait that's all just Cambodia. There's so many dead across the border, and then the sun never sets on our proxy wars and regime change wars.
And now is the point where your narrator pauses to note that things seem to be color-coded. America (don't know if I can say 'we' here for reasons having to do the intentions of the policy's architects, indexicals are weird) defended the white democracies. I mean, maybe America is on the right side sometimes, but I think it's worse than chance. And really, what can we expect? Half the country was running apartheid. Those allies from the Empires were used to treating people of color as inferior races and getting millions of them killed for no reason.
A good first step in ending gruesome racial injustice is: treat everyone how you treat the white people. It's institutionally easy to enact, as these things go, because you just have to generalize an existing policy. So the foreign policy framework I like for a possible Biden era is: let's be the big overseas allies to democracies everywhere.
We don't invade anybody, there's lots of humanitarian aid when someone needs it, and the economic and military might of the whole alliance is there to stop anyone from invading another democracy. We do treaties with each other too! Maybe an immigration treaty. Want in on this deal? Become a democracy. (Terms and conditions apply, offer void if you violate basic human rights / freedoms. All rational beings welcome, concern for your utility is guaranteed.)
