I think it probably is a safe bet to state that “the sky is the limit” in spite of some of the racial, national origin, gender and other discriminatory practices that one is likely to encounter. This phenomenon may be more pronounced in some parts of the country even when discrimination of any sort is prohibited by Federal and many local laws. Obviously many of the discrimination manifestations are the subtle type and in some cases difficult to prove. But, unfortunately, they are out there. It is my belief that sometimes it may be difficult for some people to give up bigotry when they have believed in it and “swore by it” for some time. I suppose it would take some consistent, relevant and vigorous educational campaigns to be inscribed in the younger generations’ mind set. Nevertheless considerable progress has been registered in this area thanks to public awareness and sensitivity of the issues and some stringent government laws including the fashion of the day - “Political correctness”.

America is supposed to be where the rule of law reigns supreme. But is it? Well, it depends on one’s interpretation of the “rule of law”. Obviously, the United States is a country that is governed by some rules and regulations and is accountable, primarily, to one branch of the Government, the legislative. Sadly, however, it appears that there are some loopholes by which the executive branch of the Government could and would sometimes bend the law usually for some unclear and poorly-defined national security concerns. So, the question really is, can one state unequivocally that a country abides by the rule of law if sometimes a branch of the government gets a free ride claiming some security or emergency situations? It seems reasonable to assume, therefore, that such “emergency” actions by the executive should be very specific in nature, for a very limited time span. Moreover, with credibility of the issue on the line, it must be accountable for any of its actions. Otherwise it loses its meaning and indeed its mandate once such activity becomes endemic and with no apparent corrective mechanism in sight. Thus, when things are allowed to develop somewhat loosely and at the whim of some government branch, it sets a bad precedent for other government branches or other nations to do similar unaccountable activity or more if they feel they can get away with murder as it were. It is, thus, of paramount importance that the rule of law be respected by the United States at all times without any “ifs, ands or buts”.

The United States must be a country where many émigrés would love to stream in to the country by their free and unsolicited political choice and not as excuse for “economic” and other hardship issues which many of them appear to be doing. Mind you, I do not have any objection with people migrating for economic reasons; and there is absolutely no reason why people of any nation should not be allowed in the country solely for economic reasons on a case by case basis. After all, we all know many of our skilled and unskilled professionals that are effectively and noticeably contributing to the economic growth of this country came from abroad. The point is however, I believe America’s status, as the beacon of freedom and hope, would be greatly enhanced if the majority of them were coming to the United Sates on their own volition for the right to enjoy political freedom rather than some other issues with ramification of economic baggage. This may be an idealistic point of view on my part, but, I like to see the United States become a magnet for people who may not enjoy political freedom elsewhere. It goes without saying that there are plenty of countries that need and do attract foreign people to work for them. So, to have the US lined up with some economic magnets would not make America the unique country that it was meant to be. It would just be one of them and that is not good enough.

The USA’s foreign policy should be aimed at achieving fair and equitable diplomatic peace mission by facilitating and encouraging all nations to live in “peace and harmony”. Moreover, in conjunction with the United Nations Security Council members, America’s foreign policy should be geared to entice feuding nations to resolve all outstanding issues in a legal and sustainable way instead of siding with one of the belligerent parties and aggravate the situation. Backing one party against the other could not be a sincere effort and inevitably could only inflame a situation with dire consequences for everyone. The United States should lead the world by being a good, honest, compassionate and caring peace broker by deeds for it has the “big diplomatic guns”. That would be exemplary and to which action the rest of the world would undoubtedly appreciate. Otherwise, I am afraid, no matter how well tuned a propaganda machine might be, it still remains propaganda which is neither helpful nor admired by the majority of the world population. I happen to be a strong believer that if our foreign policy is geared towards a “fair and equitable” mandate, most of our “enemies” around the world would probably vanish on their own for they would loose the only trump card at their disposal and which they have successfully used against the United States.

That card is the fact that our foreign policy, to this day, remains biased, unfair and is almost consistently applied with a double standard. Think about it. How can people hate us when they hardly know us? I do not buy the nonsense like they “hate us for they do not appreciate our way of life” Our way of life is - just that - our way of life. Unless we are trying to impose that way of life on them, why would they care about it when they may have so many other pressing things to worry about? It does not make any sense. The bottom line is that America should not be living in fear and holding on to its big guns for there is a better way of living in harmony with all people including potential adversaries only if we remain true to Thomas Jefferson’s notable phrase that “All men are created equal” and therefore are equal before the law and are entitled to live freely in this World we all share and adore.

---