"You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you...You must know that help is arriving."
Obama made this promise, a testament to the strength of the American people, backed by an army and navy of volunteer soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, despite our financial and personal hardships at home. Some gave time to a relief effort, packing supplies. Others gave cash through their church or Red Cross. Even in the poor areas, they gave... It is not an attribute of the American President, our political dealings, or the parties in power... it is something we are bred with in this collective of States - that when a neighbor is down and out, you lend a helping hand.
However, as with everything that comes with US governmental involvement, there are already strings attached...
Just as Obama offered the promise that "help is arriving", it is just days after telling now prosperous banks "we want our money back"... and moments after signing the Council of Governors Executive Order - a 'payback' of sorts for states who took the federal bail-out money... the big pay-off... So one has to wonder when Obama will tell Haitians "we want our money back"... Or perhaps something else.
I have heard from a few different sources the concept of making Haiti a US territory. Though tempting as the thought is, it only serves to feed the imperialistic nature of the beast that is DC. True, we will be giving billions in relief to the country, we have an army deployed, there is no viable government or infrastructure currently in place, and all that stands between the US and the western part of the Island Nation are the 10 Million people remaining - hungry and looking for basic necessity and leadership. Will Obama and the "one world government" he supports be so bold as to suggest that the US oversee the rebuilding efforts, enact martial law under US authority, and rebuild to US safety codes with US dollars?
Perhaps it will be guised as an "international effort" under the UN - but something seems off when even conservatives are suggesting the taking of Haiti as part of a "National Defense" measure to ensure Chavez or Castro regimes do not swoop in to enact authoritarian communist control over the territory.
Haiti has nothing to lose by accepting such an offer from the Untied States. The States of the Union have everything to lose by accepting a welfare state of 10 Million people with no viable industry, absolute impoverishment, majority of the population uneducated, and an infrastructure that has just been obliterated. Any efforts to turn the Haiti People into subjects of the Union should be met with absolute resistance.
Let's not confuse the fact that I believe we have a moral obligation as intellectuals with relative wealth to help in times of need - but we must empower the people of Haiti to rebuild - not turn them into another welfare society living on hand-outs of their neighbors... We should volunteer to clear the debris, bury the dead, reconnect to clean water, ensure basic means for sustainability, educate (on a free market basis) on the skills needed to sustain infrastructure in earthquake AND hurricane environments, and let the people of Haiti continue their path of self determination. This is the ONLY way for Haiti to succeed as an independent nation, free or otherwise. Education on permanent infrastructure, even at the Presidential Palace, can work miracles in this type of disaster - that, and a little rebar!
In closing, and as a reminder, if you hear grumblings of a US territory or other such insanity, remind folks that the US is a nation of sovereign states, not the protector of nanny states. Our humanitarian efforts may be mighty, but our imperialistic tendencies must be curbed. Plus, we have enough to worry about right here in the continental US as a constitutional crisis looms over our heads as early as Tuesday...
"Haiti has nothing to lose by accepting such an offer from the Untied States."
ReplyDeleteThose of us in Alaska would beg to differ, sir. As a Territory, with an appointed governor, our resources were raped & plundered (quite literally). We had no say in which corporations set up shop to suck the lumber and minerals out of the land, and leave devastation behind. Unfortunately, statehood came too late, as the progressives had time to enact their imperial desires, turning us into the largest national park. Two-thirds of Alaska is in Federal hands, and is off-limits to Alaskans for most purposes.
If that doesn't make you angry, nothing will. I rarely disagree with you, but I'd think twice before recommending to the Haitians that they accept our largess. It will come back to bite them, in the end.
Rev - understood. I doubt that there are many natural resources in Haiti TO plunder, as there was in Alaska. As such, such an aquisition would be merely for the purpose of, as Gibson on Fox suggested "Ensuring Chavez or Castro don't fill the power vacuum." The situation in Haiti is vastly different than that of Alaska... this would serve as a new form of nation building under the liberal philosophy of building third world countries into first world ones... This could be the start of the Obama Doctrine... Who knows... but I do know that the situation benefits the Haitians in these Welfare States of America, with NO advantage to the US!
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