"Foreign Policy Experience?" What the heck?

I hope this gets people thinking about thinking a bit.

I've heard a lot of talk this election cycle about "foreign policy experience." Why is this magical "foreign policy experience" so important? What is "foreign policy experience?" Here I will attempt to answer these questions.

First, what is "foreign policy expericence?" Is it simply visiting other countries? It seems like the candidates often have a contest as to how many countries they have visited. I've been to Jamaica, does that give me foreign policy experience?

Well, it is my belief that anyone who runs for President/Vice-President should have a true understanding of all other nations, at least how their governments rule. They need to be familiar with the cultures, values, interests, and needs of the people that live there, not just the needs of the people in power there. They need to understand each nation's economy. They need to know each nation's history. Is that a lot to ask? Probably, since there are around 200 independent nations on the planet.

Now does anyone who runs for President/Vice-President need to have visited these nations to get a first-hand look at them? Not really. I think there are plenty of experts out there who know much about many different nations yet have never stepped foot in them. In fact, one could argue that not visiting or living in a foreign nation can give an individual more objectivity when examining that nation.

Most people will say that one will gain foreign policy experience through diplomatically meeting with world leaders on a regular basis. Are you kidding me? Most of these are photo opportunities. For one thing, how can these meetings be fruitful when most world leaders do not speak the same native language? I feel much can easily get lost in translation, especially when one side is completely ignorant of the other side's culture and values. Anyway, I am not discouraging diplomacy of course, but I do find it a little absurd that these meetings are what determines who has and who does not have foreign policy experience.

My feeling is we are all human beings. If you can effectively communicate when anyone in America, from Jack, the rude gas station clerk who hates life to Sister Mary Ann at the local convent and still make a connection, you can make a connection with someone from a foreign nation, despite the language barrier. In short- if you are a people person, then it shouldn't matter where these people are from you are talking to. Besides, it's ridiculous to say that someone has foreign policy experience because "they know how to talk to these people." It's all about communication. It's, as said in Office Space, "people skills."

And another thing- how is it that you have foreign policy experience when you only talk to a nation's leaders? Most idiots know that what a nation's leaders are thinking often clashes with the nation's citizens. And when a politician goes over to meet with troops stationed overseas, why is it he or she always tells stories of soldiers who come up to thank him or her? Well duh. The soldiers who don't like or agree with the politican aren't going to go near him or her. Do you see these politicians ever meeting with the citizens of these foreign nations? How can they know the true feelings of the citizens of Iraq, for example, when they've never actually spoken to them? They report the feelings of the citizens of Iraq as described second-hand by the rulers of Iraq.

So to sum that up, my belief is that a candidate who has "foreign policy experience" is one who truly understands all nations that he or she communicates with and can effectively communicate with not only their leaders but also their citizens. Even if this candidate has never traveled to another nation, he or she would still have the advantage over another candidate if that other candidate knew nothing about the culture, values, beliefs, interests, and history of the citizens of nations we have relationships with.

Why is "foreign policy experience" so important? Because the world is small and we have an empire to maintain within it. Do I agree we should have this empire? Of course not. But that is why the candidates running for President right now are asked time and time again: Do you have the foreign policy experience needed to succeed as President? When the whole world is watching you because they have to, you need to be able to communicate with them. I think the question should be: "How has our communication with other nations failed us in the past?"

700 billion dollars

Kudos to our government for giving 700 billion dollars to private companies that got a bit too greedy and messed up. 

Someday, all of us living in United States will be paying a heavy price for this. In my opinion, it's just another band-aid to delay the inevitable. It's no longer capitalism. It's become socialism, and I doubt it works that well when the dollar isn't worth anything. 

ENR on the real tube baby!

http://www.ketv.com/video/17388890/

We were on KETV (a local Omaha TV station) for a story they did on the Mid American Music Festival.