PARS REFLECTIONS

Wilson Wu

The world has become a better place under an American hegemony. In comparison to prior periods of history, the entry of the United States hegemonic era into the 21^st century has been relatively peaceful. Although wars continue to be prevalent around the world, the severity and casualty counts of these wars are substantially lower than wars of the past; wars during periods of bipolarity and multipolarity were much more brutal, as they were zero-sum struggles for power. On the other hand, with all due respect to Nelson Mandela, it is ridiculous of Mr. Mandela to compare the United State’s military objectives to that of the “holocaust,” an unjust act towards humanity. The wars in the Middle East have been justified as a war against terrorism; there is nothing wrong with Americans defending their ideals of freedom, justice, and democracy. Furthermore, it’s unfair to label the United States as a democracy-hungry monster. The blatant accusations of the United States imposing democracy at gunpoint is outright false; if these accusations were true, wouldn’t China, the largest communist state, be converted into a democratic state by now? In fact, the United States and China are in excellent economic relations. For these reasons, the American hegemony has made the world a better place.

The world should commit to debt relief as a preceding step to further assistance. It is within the world’s obligation to help others in need of financial assistance. Colonial Europeans and the modern globalization of today’s economy are prominent factors that have contributed to the downfall of economies in developing countries. For example, European colonialists reaped the economic benefits of African colonies for their plethora of resources. Subsequently, colonial powers ditched these countries and left them with tatters when they were granted independence. As well, the economic reaping of developing countries continues today, as the developed world drives the demand for cheaply produced foreign goods. Thus, it is within the developed world to mend the very problems that they assisted in creating. However, simply providing financial resources will not aid these countries. Taking into consideration the failures of debt forgiveness in the 50s and 60s due to corruption, there needs to be additional guidance in the expenditure of this money to ensure that corrupt officials do not deprive citizens from receiving the benefits of this blessing. Only then will debt forgiveness be effective towards reconstruction efforts.

I personally believe that we are headed towards a Nuclear 9/11. Even Graham Allison’s article in support of the “NO” side argues that a nuclear terrorist attack is inevitable, but he counters himself that the “inevitable” can be prevented through the actions of the American government. However, I believe that the “inevitable” will remain the inevitable future to come for America because of the American government’s ineffectiveness to identify and act on nuclear threats. For example, the United State’s government is too busy allocating billions upon billions of dollars of its financial resources in Iraq to fight the “War on Terror.” Ironically, there’s a ticking time bomb of terror brewing within the borders of North Korea, with its intensifying nuclear proliferation program. Yet, the American government’s leniency towards North Korea either means they remain oblivious to the severity of the issue or they just do not care. The implications of the nuclear program in North Korea remain unknown for the United States. Taking into consideration the high levels of poverty in North Korea, the nuclear weapons could very well be sold by North Korea’s government and land into the hands of anti-American terrorists and other rogue states, where there is a high demand. It is here where the American government should focus its efforts to fight terror, rather than fight an endless battle to find the un-findable Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, in the Middle East.

The environment is and will continue to pose a threat against the world in the future to come. Sadly, in this highly industrialized world, economics is given priority over the environment; politicians simply fail to recognize that there can’t be a functional economy without the backing of sustainable environment to support it. In fact, statistics clearly demonstrate the damaging effects that unsustainable lifestyles has on the earth’s environment. For example, the increasing reliance of the automobile, an effect of urban sprawl in the Americas and most recently countries such as China, is contributing to the degradation of the environment. Although damage to the environment is inevitable with human activity, it is undoubtedly a process that can be substantially slowed down to ensure that the quality of life for future generations remain in place. For example, Portland, after serious political commitment to sustainable development practices, saw a dramatic spike in transit ridership by 65% and a reduction of greenhouse gases by 14% to pre-1990 levels. If Portland’s sustainable development practices were to be replicated in all American cities and cities around the world, the environmental threat would, without a doubt, greatly be mitigated. Unfortunately, governments act in the best interests of maintaining their popularity, and not in the best interests of the people. It’s unfortunate that the Canadian Conservative government, the leaders of a country that is a consumption powerhouse, will promise to look into this issue in 50 years, when the time to act is now. The opportunity to save the world from slipping into its environmental demise is available, but without political will, any attempts will be rendered useless.

FINAL PARAGRAPH

My approach to these international issues is very idealistic: save the peace, save the environment, save the social safety net, save humanity! ⁽¹⁾ I will continue to support the American hegemony, as long as they maintain their peace. As I have mentioned previously, the American hegemonic era has been much more peaceful than prior times of history, such as the Cold War. ⁽²⁾ For America to maintain this peace, it is strongly urged that the United States gradually disarm its nuclear weapons to prevent a nuclear war from arising. An American disarmament will dissolve the nuclear security dilemma and hopefully move the issue forward towards peace. ⁽³⁾ On the other hand, I am in full support of preserving the environment; it is crucial to sustaining human life as it is, which many politicians have failed to realize. Environmental policies that are precise and effective must be implemented by governments today and not in 50 years, which the government of Canada has proposed. ⁽⁴⁾ Most importantly, debt relief is imperative to the reconstruction efforts of developing countries. To ensure accountability of the money being spent, those providing the relief should oversee the expenditures and where they’re spent to ensure corruption does not launder the money.

Finally, I have one suggestion for future PARS assignments: Split the team into individuals like SLTs. It’s difficult to coordinate ideas between the questions, evidence, and summary segment of the assignment.