Kubo 1 Erin Kubo John Kubler English 114A 23 September 2013 U.S.

as the police for the entire world Most Americans tend to believe that the U.S. shouldnt intervene in international affairs and have a foreign policy. In the discussions of this topic of whether or not we should follow a non-interference policy, one controversial issue has been with the war in Syria on whether we should intervene. Andy Sullivan points out that the majority of Americans disagree with foreign policy by stating that Some 56 percent of those surveyed said the United States should not intervene in Syria, while only 19 percent supported action, the online poll found. Some 25 percent said they did not know what course of action the United States should take. On the one hand, the majority of people argue that "the problems of Syria are none of our business" and that we should focus on protecting our homeland first from terrorism coming from other countries. On the other hand, the minority of people contend that the foreign policy creates a peaceful cooperation of other nations that can protect us from things like terrorism. Others even maintain a neutral stance because they dont know which action would be best. However, my own view on foreign policy is that we need to take part international affairs to uphold justice for human rights. There are people around the world that dont have a say in their rights and many innocent people are dying because they themselves dont have the power to do so. We need to take the initiative to make this world a safer place. Although the majority of people are against foreign policy including a man named Charles Pena who disagrees by saying in his policy analysis that The ultimate goal of any U.S. national security strategy should be to protect the American homeland against future terrorist attacks; thus,

Kubo 2 homeland security is national security which brings up the point that we should take care of ourselves before we even think about taking care of others (19). However earlier in his essay he said Not only does the United States outspend most of the rest of the world, but its military is technologically superior to that of any other country which points out that our military is prepared in a fighting standpoint compared to other countries which contradicts the idea that we should still be focusing on our homeland security (4). We should be able to defend ourselves from enemy attacks and if this is true then we can now focus on international affairs so we can make this world a safer place. We can first help by protecting the innocent people who are caught in the middle of religious conflicts. They are dying needlessly because they dont want to be part of it in the first place. Also by interfering with Syria we collected the chemical weapons that would have been dangerous for the safety of our country. The majority of the people though who do vote against foreign Policy is because for the reason that they have the fear that if we do interfere with other countries then they will retaliate and terrorize our country. In an essay called Faith and Diplomacy, Madeline Albright discusses how religion affects terrorism and how we can put foreign policy to good use by demonstrating that Effective foreign policy requires that we comprehend why others act as they do which means that we have to look into why other countries have decided to terrorize us. Then based off of what we find we can make a change to our religious beliefs or principles so other countries dont feel threatened. There are ways to prevent terrorism from happening and Albright gives us the idea that if we develop the ability to recognize where and how religious beliefs contribute to conflicts and when religious principles might be invoked to ease strife then we can truly become understanding people. This will help people make connections around the world as well because we wont be clouded by our own way of thinking but being more open to what the other people are thinking. Another way we can defend ourselves is by teaming up with other nations to work together to make this world more peaceful.

Kubo 3 Charles Pena, towards the beginning of his essay, lists some of the views of how foreign policy can work and one states that if we strengthen alliances to defeat global terrorism and work to prevent attacks against us and our friends then we will have the strength in numbers to defeat conflicts in other countries and have a peaceful cooperation to achieve the same goal to make this world much safer for everyone. There are always going to be dangerous people and if we continue to let things happen without some sort of guidance then they will continue to dangerous things. If people are never punished for the wrongdoings they have done then they are only going to do worse things in the future. An example of this is in a quote which was written by Marjane Satrapi in her book called Persepolis. The main character of the book, Marjane, was told of how the innocent people she knew were tortured when they were imprisoned. She played some torture games and became overwhelmed by how powerful she felt. She then ran to her mother asking if one should forgive and she replied by saying bad people are dangerous but forgiving them is too. Dont worry, there is justice in the world (53). I think what her mother was trying to say is if we forgive people who have done wrong easily then they will take advantage of that and continue to do so because they can. Those types of people will never truly understand what they are doing is wrong or they think they can just get away with anything because no one is going to stop them. We should be cracking down on things like Syria because if we condone that type of violence then we are going to continue to see wars like that around the world because no one is telling them to truly stop. We as country is just sitting back and letting them fight it out which is basically the same thing as approving their behavior which is not what we want. Personally my life always consists of dealing with different religion, race, and culture. My mother is Caucasian and my father is Japanese. One of the things they have in common is that they both majored in Mechanical Engineering and worked at JPL My mom's family stretches back 7

Kubo 4 generations in the state of Montana and is made up of German, French, and Lithuanian cultures. She has made us also part of the Lutheran church family. Even though I am fourth generation Japanese American on my dad's side of the family, I have been enriched with Buddhist teachings and Japanese history/culture. A great example of this is that I have been introduced to popular Asian culture such as Korean-pop/Japanese-pop, Anime, Manga [Japanese comic books], and Cosplay. I have also been introduced to the Hispanic culture through soccer and close friends. The food, language, and music of the Hispanic culture has influenced my world by the way I act around different people. As a part of my church community I enjoyed attending the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering this past summer in New Orleans. When I went on the New Orleans trip I learned about the cultures of people all over the United States and some from other countries such as Madagascar, Estonia, Romania, Israel, El Salvador, and more. By having these many experiences in many types of things my doors to opportunities have widened. It has become really easy to connect with other people that are different from me and it makes me a well rounded person. The customs and cultures I have come across has made me more opened minded and aware that I can insult others beliefs very easily. By living in an environment of so much diversity I have realized that there is always a way to meet in the middle whether its culture or religion. Also as child I would always get into trouble because if my parents wouldnt have scolded me or gave me spanks then I would continue to do troublesome things because I thought it was fun. I have noticed that if kids are not scolded when they do something wrong they will continue to do it because they dont know any better. I think the same concept goes for terrorism and wars because these people dont truly understand any other way to solve a problem that they have been given. I think we as a country can show other nations the many different options instead of violence and educate people how to be more open minded because then you might find something in common.

Kubo 5 Overall even though the majority of Americans are scared to be a part of problems that happen internationally that might lead to terrorism. Nevertheless the right thing to do is to make this world a better place by changing the way other nations view the world so they can be more open-minded. We shouldnt have the excuse to be turning away from a problem that deals with the abuse of human rights. We have to start first because the other nations are still reluctant to change unless someone brings up a way to change it. We should be the firm hand that should guide others into the right direction and the way to do it is foreign policy.

Kubo 6 Works Cited Books/Essays Albright, Madeleine. Faith and Diplomacy. Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. 2nd ed. Ed. Barclay Barrios. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 34-44. Print.

Pena, Charles V. Bushs National Security Strategy is a Misnomer. Cato.org. The Cato Institute, Policy Analysis, 30 Oct. 2003. Web. (date accessed).

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2003. Print.

Website Sullivan, Andy. U.S. public opposes Syria intervention as Obama Presses Congress www.reuters.com. Washington, 3 Sep. 2013. Web.