GI Joe and What it Means to be American Heroes
December 1, 2011America knows what true strength is. We didn’t become the world’s only super power because we leave jobs undone or don’t look at the big picture. After WWII, when Europe lay in ruins and the Soviet Union threatened global security, we didn’t leave a war torn continent to fall victim to poverty and instability. Through the Marshall Plan the U.S. sent aid to our allies and former enemies alike to help them rebuild.
We did this because we knew that a safer, more stable world was in the U.S.’s best interest. Even though the percussion of bombs had ceased and the last bullet was fired, America knew that the job wasn’t done if we just left Europe, Japan and other countries in the exact same condition that brought war to the entire globe. We knew that real strength comes when we use our resources to both tear down dictators and build up crumbling infrastructures and fragile economies. This foresight lead to the economic boom we enjoyed for the next 50 years and made many of our former enemies now our strongest allies. This is the American legacy proudly portrayed in this latest ad from our friends at the Truman Project. Watch the powerful ad below and learn more at MakeUsStrong.com.
We’re facing many of the same challenges today that the Greatest Generation did over sixty years ago. Our troops and country are making many sacrifices to root out terrorism across the globe and keep the nation safe. But it isn’t enough to kill bin Laden or track down the Taliban if we ignore the conditions that allowed them to take hold and flourish in the first place. We know what contributes to regional instability and the kind of desperation that erupts in to violence. We know that when people lack access to the basic necessities of food and water, when they are denied the opportunity to get a good education and to make a make a better life for themselves, those with evil intent can prey on the resulting hopelessness and desperation and throw whole regions in to crisis. We need to do now what we did then, root out terrorists, extremists, and war lords and then help the people left behind rebuild their countries and create economic growth and development that benefits us all.
There are some who want to make foreign aid a bleeding heart charity issue, others who say we can’t afford to be investing in global development and security. But the truth is, we can’t afford not to. And to turn our backs on the conditions of drought, famine, disease, and extreme poverty not only puts our country at great risk, but it is turning out back on everything our nation was built upon. The world is now to dangerous for America to start taking our eye of the ball and retreating from a job undone.
