Famous Sayings - A Simple and Wise Foreign Policy

Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations-entangling alliance with none.

- Thomas Jefferson

A quick comment:

Here we see Isolationism vs Expansionism at play. Would we have the resources, the drive, the energy and commitment and most importantly the experience and the influence to actually keep the world more stable? Or would foe have taken advantage of us and our desire for peace, while cutting us to the bones not for weakness or lack of preparedness but for greatness beyond measure which we could not have resisted and would have had to succumb to because of sheer inability to resist all alone?

I think of the book The Lord of the Rings here. In book one, The Fellowship of the Ring, at the council of Elrond it was decided that an alliance that was previously great and had resisted evil was again needed, and that the microcosm of which would be represented by members of each region that had a strong interest in preservation of their borders and peoples yet needed strength against a large and powerful foe. It was a "united we stand, divided we fall" lesson to be sure.

Although this was a great risk and didn’t work out exactly as planned, for the most part it did…because the numbers of those on the side of evil were exceedingly great, but the important alliances of the seemingly weaker endured.

But the council was also not interested in expansionism for any other sake than defense. That is an important lesson to remember.

What to do with this famous saying:

First, do not be ignorant. Do not take a narrow view of issues because often there are many more things involved that we cannot possibly see, or that one who advised so wisely didn’t have as a consideration as we do today. So first, seek to understand and know more and then make decisions that take into consideration all that you should. Sometimes situations call for greater action. But once this is over, then things should go back to normal. That was the lesson in the Lord of the Rings, as I see it.

Second, know the arguments, counterarguments and then the more complex points that make for a better decision than what may seem obvious. Though there may not be more than two decisions there may be more than one reason for each decision and it’s your duty to know the better reasons than the obvious before making a decision. Once this is done, then you can rest assured that your due diligence will help you make a decision that you cannot possibly regret.

I am sure there is a balanced middle and Jefferson's quote about entangling alliances seems to have found a balance, has it not?

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