But Fear Itself: The Nuclear Question

America, the 800-pound democratic gorilla, has found itself to be a chimp, cowering in the corner of world politics. With a lame duck Administration still in office and its current inability to carry non-oil-based clout in international debate, global leaders and rising superpowers are steadily growing anxious towards the fact that, the United States is going to have an equally powerful rival in the near future. This is a mounting fear, which is carried by many Americans, of defeated national perpetuation.

Inferioraphobia: it is inescapable and this prophecy is self-fulfilling, ego-smashing, and at its best, humbling for the power hoarders. It's been seen before in America, on a national scale, the false assumption of superiority over another human being. This, though, is quite different, as it is the moment this nation was built to face and conquer; the moment in which, all our famous documents, speeches, and movements, will begin to pay off and earn some merit.

A rival for America, the bringer of equality, if greeted properly, can give us new insight on what it means to be a global citizen. Without the need or possibility of being on top, there will be no excuse to disregard our neighbor's affairs, disregard our environment's illnesses, or disregard our own citizen's poverty. Losing the desire to conquer those abroad will gain us the ability to conquer what is already at home.

China, Iran, North Korea. Each has become strengthened by our weaknesses. America's dependency on Chinese exports gives China an upper hand in making U.N. Security Council decisions, such as, resolutions regarding nuclear proliferation. For example, if American policy shifted towards eliminating the Chinese nuclear program, Wall Street would take a major bashing from import deficits. As shielded as our government is from international crossfire, we can no longer afford to throw our weight around. North Korea's snappy threats towards our Pacific allies have affected our policy in such a way that, if we don't take action towards them, we are viewed as globally irresponsible, but if we do take action, we are viewed as nuclear hypocrites. America finds itself in a lose-lose situation when trying to appease these nations, but if its leaders learn to release themselves of nationalistic ego, the rewards can be infinite.

Our policies concerning North Korea affect Chinese foreign policy as well, which is why this situation is such a burden on U.S. diplomats. If war were to be waged on North Korean soil, the Chinese would come to meet us in battle, just as they did during the Korean War. The sheer numbers to be faced in an Asian conflict would leave military leaders with nothing but their last resort: Nuclear Weapons; which is why, as far as priorities are concerned, positive relationship building needs to be at the top.

As for Iran's threats towards our national interests in the Middle East, their blows towards our World Police reputation make us feel that we are obliged to amend foreign policy towards a more offensive end, which has gained us a rather bullish reputation as well. Along with their nuclear program, Iran has gone so far as to full-on support the insurgency in Iraq, which gives us all the more reason to attack them. Hence, the Administration's outright refusal to "rule out military action." This is not to say that we do have a reason to attack them, because in reality, they haven't sent any state-sponsored troops into the Iraqi war zone; however, we do have a reason to reconsider our role in the world, and whether or not the actions we take are responsible for any adverse effects put upon our neighbors. The gift of power is often paralleled with the task of responsibility, so as such; irresponsible behavior will lead to our downfall.