The United Nations concluded that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is guilty of planning and executing a chemical attack on civilians. The media has slammed the public with vivid pictures and elaborate wording on the horrendous scene in Damascus, making the ever so popular brush-it-under-the-rug routine impossible. These citizens were killed maliciously and something needs to be done to right the wrong that occurred, but can the United States physically accomplish this feat? I’m not so sure.
Secretary of State John Kerry made the intentions of the Obama Administration very clear in a quotation last week blatantly stating that America will act on the violence in Syria. President Barack Obama was faced with bipartisan rejection after presenting a plan to strike Syrian military targets during a special Labor Day weekend session. The proposal is being rewritten in the hopes that congressional approval is in the cards for the administration.
Congress returns from summer recess on Monday to make the final decision on the altered request. While having a unified legislative and executive plan would present a more powerful front, the president can still pursue military force without the approval of Congress. The divide between the branches is a direct representation of the American public.
Obama represents the side that knows a moral wrong was done and punishment needs to be doled out accordingly, regardless of our own personal well-being.
Congress is the side that knows our resources are being stretched beyond capacity and questions the physical ability of our government to accomplish what is necessary in Syria.
The world is sitting on the edge of its seat to see this play out, considering America is the only superpower left in the game at this point. Britain bowed out last week, leaving the bulk of the pressure on the United States.
Clearly the Syrian regime has violated numerous international laws and committed crimes against humanity that cannot go unacknowledged, but the United States is starting to spread itself a little thin these days.
America is the largest superpower on earth and has been for decades. When something goes wrong, the world seems to look at us and expects we’ll fix it. In the past, this didn’t present as much of an issue as it does in our current post-recession era.
The United States has played the role of mediator for international relations for far too long and it’s starting to take a toll. We’ve outsourced our military and monetary support to countries across the globe without regards to the problems that causes. If you don’t agree with that, Google the national debt ticker. You might change your mind or at least understand the issue at hand.
As a nation, we’ve put our foot through the door on too many issues we can’t really change. Our way of life is different than most of the countries we’ve been “helping” for years. We need to understand that we can’t just march in and force our culture upon a group of people that don’t live the way we do. Sure, we can wield a weapon and say they have to listen, but as soon as the force backs off, their society will fall back into its previous habits.
Americans are people with large hearts who want to see the world live with the freedom we enjoy, but we have to control our pride and realize we can’t fix everything. The world isn’t a utopia and we can’t make it one without completely destroying ourselves in the process.