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Obama, the Military Candidate Written on July 9, 2008 Over the course of the current presidential election season, a lot of attention has been focused on Barrack Obama’s intention to pull out troops and end United States’ involvement in the Iraq war. But while the Iraq war is definitely a key issue for our nation and world, this one position does not fully represent Obama’s stance on the military. While he does intend to decrease our military presence in Iraq, he has also stated that he intends to rebuild our military strength. With this declaration, Obama seems to believe that the military is too weak. But too weak compared to what? Too weak compared to whom? And more generally, for what purpose? Aggression and the use of strength to “bully” another is not just an act. Aggression and bullying is also a state of mind and an overall approach in relationships. And our tendency toward this approach has not only led to acts of aggression, it has also led to an unlevel playing field of negotiation power that has been a part (not the whole cause, but a part) of what has led to continued and increasing inequalities in the standard of life throughout the modern world. Yes, Obama has asserted that he would speak with the leaders of nations that we are in conflict with. And yes, doing so would be a step in a new, more progressive direction. But negotiating from a place of significantly greater strength, and doing so with the intent of influencing someone without a willingness to be influenced as well, and also doing so in an environment where you have given many reasons for which to be distrusted, is not negotiating from a fair and balanced position that breeds the openness of mutual trust and mutual change. Even if a “bully” has claimed to change his ways, when he continues to build the strength of his fighting potential and when he isn’t willing to take the possibility of proactive military action off the table, there is no person or nation in their right mind who would trust him because the messages that he is sending out through his current actions are still indicative of his past actions and overall character. Who in their right mind would give up the development of their own strength when those who have bullied those around them have continued to develop theirs? Would you? The possibility of aggressive action can be just as threatening as the verbal threat of aggressive action or the act of aggression itself. Furthermore, when you take actions to alienate a part of the world, that part of the world will legitimately harbor distrust for you and may even resent you. Obama’s stance on military “reconstitution,” at a time when we still have greater strength than anyone in the world and when we have a dire need for vastly greater resources at home, demonstrates that
while he might represent a major change in tactics, he represents only a minor change in our overall approach to the rest of the world. Coercion of any kind will only take you so far. Those you attempt to coerce will sooner or later smarten up and realize that they are your equals as humans on this planet. They may be different, but the natural world shows that the diversity in our make-up is what gives us the spice of life. To buy a physical copy (which is currently on sale) of The Makings of a President, click the link below: www.inspiringrevolutions.com/presidentbook.php To find out how to get your free eBook copy of The Makings of a President, click the link below: www.inspiringrevolutions.com/president To begin applying these ideas to your own life, answer the questions below: - Where in your life do you attempt use your greater power, greater skill, or more abundant resources as a way to coerce others to concede your principles or fulfill your interests? - What do you believe you gain from coercing? What do you think you might be missing by coercing? - What do you believe would happen if you stopped coercing? What do you fear in granting others the right to dictate their own lives and opening yourself to be influenced by them? What if your fears are unjustified? What if what you believe would happen will not happen? How can you be totally sure, with complete certainty, that you are “right” in your approach? - If the tables were turned and the areas of life where they have greater strength, skill, and resources became the central aspects of social power and influence, how would you expect them to act when it came to justice and fairness? - How do your answers to the above influence the way you see and feel about political issues? - If you let go of coercion in your own life and experienced the challenging and rewarding process of developing mutually agreed upon peace and mutually beneficial projects with those you conflict with most, how would that change the way you see and feel about political issues? - What would it take to accomplish this feat in your life?