Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Open Letter to the Americas
So President Bush went to South America to discuss trade and relations among the Americas. While on the trip there were a number of Anti-Bush and Anti-USA demonstrations. While I do not expect everyone to agree with the United States, I assumed that Central and South America would see that the USA (and even Canada) is their biggest ally.
As more and more European nations come together under the European Union, Europe gains an economic and diplomatic force which can begin to compete with the USA in size and influence. As China continues to develop, China and Japan continue to improve their trade relations. The stronger Asian nations get the more Asia can pull the global sphere of influence in their direction. So, it is no big secret that if the Americas can pull themselves together we would create our own hemisphere of influence.
Now, obviously the United States swings a big stick (whether we speak softly or not) in global politics. I would think that Central and South American countries would want to be a part of that. There is a lot of trade potential, educational opportunities, job growth and even profits to be made with the Americas working together. It is not just a one-way street. It is not only the USA that can benefit from such a relationship; moreover, strong trade relations seem to stabilize local governments and national security – something everyone in the Americas can appreciate. But, rather than accept a meeting of the Americas with optimism, a few rouge governments ruined the entire experience.
So, President Bush will now travel to Asia this week and strengthen trade and diplomatic ties with China, Japan and South Korea while making a good-will visit to Mongolia (the first for a sitting US President). Then, he will return home where the US already has a strong history of trade and diplomacy with Europe. I feel like Central and South America are missing an opportunity to grow. They are missing an opportunity, for lack of a better word, to exploit the United States’ desire to grow to help themselves. As democracy is slowly spreading into the Middle East, and as global trade grows exponentially many of these Central and South American nations are going to find themselves on the sidelines if they do not make an effort to participate. The Soviet Union is dead, Castro won’t live forever, and even socialist-leaning states like France are having a hard time dealing with the poor while 20+% of their population is out of work. So learn a lesson from history, socialism (at least while the USA is the big-dog of the western hemisphere) will get you nowhere. Dictatorships, narcotics-led economies and perpetual civil war will not endear you to the rest of the world (did you hear that Venezuela).
While the rest of the world is preoccupied with bird-flu, Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian relations, or the future of Turkey in the EU, take this opportunity to find a unified voice and make a statement that the Western Hemisphere matters. There is too much growth and too much money at stake to sit idly by and not act. If you chose not to act, then the US will continue its business with the rest of the world (like they already do) without you.
As more and more European nations come together under the European Union, Europe gains an economic and diplomatic force which can begin to compete with the USA in size and influence. As China continues to develop, China and Japan continue to improve their trade relations. The stronger Asian nations get the more Asia can pull the global sphere of influence in their direction. So, it is no big secret that if the Americas can pull themselves together we would create our own hemisphere of influence.
Now, obviously the United States swings a big stick (whether we speak softly or not) in global politics. I would think that Central and South American countries would want to be a part of that. There is a lot of trade potential, educational opportunities, job growth and even profits to be made with the Americas working together. It is not just a one-way street. It is not only the USA that can benefit from such a relationship; moreover, strong trade relations seem to stabilize local governments and national security – something everyone in the Americas can appreciate. But, rather than accept a meeting of the Americas with optimism, a few rouge governments ruined the entire experience.
So, President Bush will now travel to Asia this week and strengthen trade and diplomatic ties with China, Japan and South Korea while making a good-will visit to Mongolia (the first for a sitting US President). Then, he will return home where the US already has a strong history of trade and diplomacy with Europe. I feel like Central and South America are missing an opportunity to grow. They are missing an opportunity, for lack of a better word, to exploit the United States’ desire to grow to help themselves. As democracy is slowly spreading into the Middle East, and as global trade grows exponentially many of these Central and South American nations are going to find themselves on the sidelines if they do not make an effort to participate. The Soviet Union is dead, Castro won’t live forever, and even socialist-leaning states like France are having a hard time dealing with the poor while 20+% of their population is out of work. So learn a lesson from history, socialism (at least while the USA is the big-dog of the western hemisphere) will get you nowhere. Dictatorships, narcotics-led economies and perpetual civil war will not endear you to the rest of the world (did you hear that Venezuela).
While the rest of the world is preoccupied with bird-flu, Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian relations, or the future of Turkey in the EU, take this opportunity to find a unified voice and make a statement that the Western Hemisphere matters. There is too much growth and too much money at stake to sit idly by and not act. If you chose not to act, then the US will continue its business with the rest of the world (like they already do) without you.
