TROOP 65

                     Delphos, Ohio

The full name of the Boy Scout below has been changed to first name and last initial only, and his address has been deleted, in accordance with our Web Policy.

Letter to the Editor

Global police get global resentment

3/3/03

Kyle M. wrote the following essay as a requirement for his Communications Merit Badge in Boy Scouts.

    Some people refer to the United States as being the policemen of the world.  It is true that we help foreign countries with our military power, though the affairs overseas don't concern us.  Many people can still remember the Gulf War, when we liberated Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion.  But do we really need to continue being the global police?

    We've all seen the films on the news of our troops training in Kuwait.  I've also seen the reporters asking the local citizens how they feel about the troops stationed there.  The people of Kuwait are still very grateful for our help in the Gulf War.  But there's one more side to our liberation of Kuwait.  How did Hussein feel after we pushed back his army?  I'm sure he did not see us as liberators.  He felt that same sense of frustration that people feel when the local police pull them over to give them a ticket.  I'm sure he still resents us for what we did.

    I want to see world peace just as much as anyone else.  But I recognize that we cannot have peace in this world.  Trust me, I know how hard it is to find peace and keep it.  I have two siblings.  Not a week goes by when we don't fight about something.  I don't enjoy these fights, and I'm sure my brother and sister don't either.  We don't go looking for something to fight over, it just comes to us.  The world works the same way on a global level.  Countries don't go searching for a war to engage in.  Wars come up in their own way, no matter what we do.  But not every conflict needs to be resolved violently.  We don't need a war with Iraq, and I hope we don't have one.  Is there a peaceful resolution?  Yes, let the UN inspectors turn the whole nation inside out.  Then we'll know Hussein isn't hiding anything.  But not every war has an easy way out.  Even if we got extremely close to world peace, there are two countries who may never stop fighting.  Yes, the Israelis and the Palestinians.  If you could make lasting peace there, you could make it anywhere.

    There have been anti-war protests around the world.  People from France, Britain, Ukraine, Spain, Iraq, and, of course, the U.S. have been sending president Bush a message.  And not just sending it, either.  They're yelling it right into his ear.  They're telling him just what they think about his preparations for war.  I fully agree with the protestors.  The troops in Iraq are showing what has become of our actions as the global police.  We are trying to use the military to manipulate someone else, and it's not helping our global image.

    What image have we put on ourselves by acting as the global policemen?  Not a good one.  Let's look at a similar situation to which we can all relate.  Everywhere we go, there is one person who likes to push others around.  Whether at work or at school, we all know who it is.  It's like someone who is not a leader is trying to become one.  And that person isn't doing a very good job.  There is little respect to be found for that person, especially when he or she attacks someone, whether physically or verbally.  There is one country that does the same thing on a global level, and their actions are not appreciated.  As much as I hate to bear this title, we are the global bullies.  We started as the global police, but then got carried away.  That's the image being stamped on us by the training in the Gulf.  And I am certain that we will lose a lot of world respect if those troops go into Iraq.

    Let's stop trying to make the world a place of peace.  We can't stop the fighting.  If we continue to try, we will worsen the bad image that such actions have already put on us.  We are going from global police to global bullies, and we need to stop.  I don't like to face the fact that war is inevitable at times, but it's not something we can change.  After all, real respect goes to the person who has the power to manipulate others and doesn't use it.  Let's make the same image for our country, and we will have far fewer enemies in the future.

Kyle M.,

Delphos

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