As liberals we want to help people, we need to help our neighbors. I may not have children but I will gladly pay a tax to school your children. Gay rights, all the way. Bullies and criminals need to be stopped. Medical insurance, pensions, fair wages, yes, yes, yes. If an employer won’t offer any of the above, start a union and demand the above. Unions aren’t perfect, but if they serve as a counterbalance to extreme corporate interests, and profits for the very few over the masses at the bottom- they are good enough. Once we get to foreign policy things get a little more complicated. Do we take out a foreign despot that is committing genocide? While the answer might be clear morally, and hypothetically; we need to ask ourselves if it is ok to send a volunteer solider into harms way to wage war. While we may fool ourselves and think we know what might work or should work in a foreign culture- we rarely do, and if we get it wrong, we generate animosity in tandem with senseless bloodshed. If that wasn’t enough of a dilemma, we also need to ask if we have the money. If we are broke and our fellow citizens are living on the streets while children that can’t afford to eat starve- what then? At the republican debate the nominees were asked if we deserved to be attacked. Many informed voters know that our actions in foreign affairs have had a hand in the hatred that led to the 9/11 attacks. Less intellectual (and dishonest) fox republicans will unequivocally state “we did nothing to them to provoke this attack”. They will never answer why are we in Saudi Arabia or why we have permanent bases in 150 countries around the world. We know that America has had either an overt or a hidden hand in most world affairs, Not always to the betterment of mankind. The president inherits the American empire and with it a war machine that is unlike anything else in the history of man. And if we progressive liberals were given the power we would use it for good- or we would hope… As Gandalf said to Frodo: Frodo: [holding out the Ring] Take it Gandalf! [Gandalf backs away] Frodo: Take it! Gandalf: No, Frodo. Frodo: You must take it! Gandalf: You cannot offer me this ring! Frodo: I'm giving it to you! Gandalf: Don't... tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo. I would use this ring from a desire to do good... But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine. Substitute Frodo for the citizens and the ring for the military. Therein lies the danger and the dilemma that American might creates. I do not agree that we should be strict isolationists but power corrupts and we can’t always get it right.