by Tanilan Prescott

Created on: January 06, 2009   Last Updated: June 27, 2011

The world is not our stage. We should be involved in world politics, but what gives us the right to be the leader in world politics? The United States has actually become too self-important in the area of world politics. Our stance is "We Are The World Police" and everyone should listen to what we have to say, and follow our example. But that is simply neither, true or fair. We cannot expect the world to believe in what we believe; then go against every principle we say we believe in. We demand other countries take up our form of democracy, when it may clash with their cultural beliefs; or simply not work for them. We cannot continue to alienate the rest of the world, because they don't see things our way. Eight years of the Bush Administration diminished our role in the world, by pushing his agenda without compromise. Eight years of Bush's politics completely changed the way the world looks at us.

In the past eight years, we have seen our closest allies back away from our way of thinking; due to the War in Iraq and Bush's foreign policies in the Middle East. September 11th changed the world forever. Osama bin Laden's attack against the United States terrified and scared the world. In turn most of the world was with us in our effort to find and punish bin Laden's actions. However, when Bush turned his focus to Iraq, the world was not convinced it was the best thing to do. They opposed our involvement; and Bush's justifications for going to war with Saddam Hussein were seen as flimsy at best. And those few allies that went ahead and backed us, have since withdrawn their support. They began withdrawing troops in the conflict, because of waning support in their countries, for a war many believe should have never been. Bush was seen as a cowboy and we lost credibility in the world at large.

On the home-front, our economy has been put through the ringer. Financial markets swing like the vicarious pendulum, consumers at home and abroad do not buy like they have in the past. New technologies and innovations are held up in red tape bureaucracy we know as the Washington Machine. Fear has gripped the American taxpayer, who is already stretched to the limit. And our children's education insures they cannot compete with the rest of the world. Bush's No Child Left Behind has killed the fundamental education our kids need to succeed in the world. We have tested our kids to the brink of madness and instead of learning what they need to, they are only being prepared to pass a test that is geared for them to fail.

Our focus now should be to reestablish ourselves on the world stage, as a government of change, stability, and reason. Instead of walking around and swinging a big stick, we should try and mend our image and learn from other countries. We need to become innovative and find new ways to bring our country back to greatness. Whether or not we should be a leader on the world stage should be irrelevant. We should focus on taking care of business and becoming, once again, the country everyone looks up to.

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