The Monroe Doctrine

The article I read was called “Foreign Policy Leaders in Glass Countries Shouldn’t Throw Stones”. It talked a lot about the connections between the Ferguson Case that happened recently in the US, and US foreign policy. The author Stephen Walt believed that the US wastes a lot of money on things do not affect its people directly. For example, Walt says that we wasted three trillion plus dollars on “misguided Iraqi and Afghan Adventures”. If we did not waste all that money, they we could have made improvements in the US. This would have created many more job opportunities, and that ultimately would have benefitted our economy. Also, all the issues that the government has to deal with outside of the US, take away the time they should be spending on domestic issues that are more prominent to the people here. Ferguson helped to remind everyone that the United States is not as perfect as everyone would like to think. No matter how hard people try to say that race has nothing to do with the treatment of people, they are wrong. No matter what side you are on, in regards to the Ferguson case, they both involve some racism.

If the United States was to follow the three lasting principles of the Monroe Doctrine, it would have made Stephen Walt, the author of the article very happy. First, for most of the article Walt talks about how he wants the United States government to focus more on their issues here, and less on the issues of foreign lands. This relates directly to the first lasting principle. Which was “separate spheres of influence”. This meant that the people here will stay here, and focus on the problems here. This may sounds like a good idea, but it leaves the people who desperately need our military’s help to fend for themselves. Secondly, if the US was to follow the “non- colonization” rule, then we could not have as much of a say anywhere else in the world. Thirdly, if the army of the US only helped when the problem involved us directly, then many other countries, like Iraq and Afghanistan would be in deep trouble. Those countries need our help in order to stand any chance against the opponent. The three lasting principles of the Monroe Doctrine are very important, but not always the best decision for the US as a whole.

MLA Citation:

Walt, Stephen. "Leaders in Glass Countries Shouldn’t Throw Stones." Foreign Policy Leaders in Glass Countries Shouldn’t Throw Stones Comments. FP Magazine, 4 Dec. 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Race and Identity: Then & Now

My group and I studied the Gran Colombia Revolution. The Gran Colombia Revolution was less about race, and more about identity. Simon Bolivar played a big role in the revolution. His main goal was to get the countries of South America, like Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to unite and refer to themselves more generally as South Americans. When the national assembly in Caracas declares Venezuela’s independence in 1811, there is hope for the independence of Latin America. This hope is soon diminished in 1812, when the Spanish army fight, and gain back Venezuela. Once again declaring it a Spanish Province. In 1813, Bolivar returns to Venezuela and wins six battles. This leads to him taking political control of Venezuela. In 1814, he once again loses control of Caracas to the Spanish. Bolivar decides that he cannot gain control of Caracas, so he wants to strike at the capital city of New Granada. Despite the terrible conditions, the little army, led by Bolivar, forces the Spanish army to surrender on August 7th, 1819. When the Republica de Colombia is proclaimed it covers modern day Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Bolivar remained the ruler until 1830, but he becomes ill and has to resign. Soon after his death both Venezuela and Ecuador are no longer a part of Gran Colombia. Throughout this revolution if the people united by the location that they lived they would have been much more successful. The Spanish wanted control of Gran Colombia, and many people wanted that too. Bolivar wanted these people to forget where they came from, and become South Americans. This way they could unite against the Spanish, and take control.

The article I selected was called “Mayor, Police Say Race Played No Role in Hammer Slaying of Bostonian Immigrant”. In the article a white man was beaten to death by two black teenagers, and one hispanic teenager. The man driving in the car said something rude to the teenagers, so they teenagers jumped him. Byers, the author, states that the color of the man's skin did not affect their decision to jump him. The reason they jumped him was because he made a rude comment as he was driving by. This may be what the article states, but I do not believe it. If the man was black like the other men, they would not have jumped him. This is because if he saw that they were all black, he might have taken the comment, which Byers never further explained, as more of a joke. Some white men in today’s society believe that they are better than black men. Because of this when the black kids here the comment, they immediately go on the defensive. That is why I believe that race had an influence of what happened in this incident. Although we have come a long way as Americans, racial acceptance is still an issue we need to confront.

MLA Citation:

Byers, Christine. "Mayor, Police Say Race Played No Role in Hammer Slaying of Bosnian Immigrant." Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. St. Louis Post Dispatch, 02 Dec. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.