Much has been said about how imperialistic America has become, as well as how destructive our foreign policy is. There are good arguments for why America shouldn’t have gotten involved in a number of wars and actions, but I think We the People have lost perspective on what our military does.

History has shown that negotiation alone won’t protect us from powerful, ambitious people. We originally discovered this in 1775 and fought the British for our independence. We fought them again from 1812-1814, during which Washington DC was burnt to the ground. From there, our history appears to chug along through a series of major wars and periods of peace. The wars were real; the peace was an illusion. Scroll back to 1783: America signed a treaty with Britain, was internationally recognized as an independent nation, and was henceforth not protected by the British Navy. We also lacked a navy of our own. North African pirates – sponsored by local Islamic dictators – immediately began raiding merchant vessels and enslaving US citizens. Without a navy to project force around the globe, we were forced to either pay tribute or suffer these attacks. More than fifteen years passed before we could muster a fleet to invade the Barbary Coast, keep dangerous foreign regimes in check, and protect our own citizens. This is essentially the same story as Iraq, and it debunks the assumption that simply being nice will solve our foreign problems. We didn’t even have a navy to be imperialistic with in 1783. Ambitious men simply saw our vulnerability and exploited it.

In reality, peace never exists because there’s always a dictator or terrorist somewhere in the world using violence. To give you some perspective, the Marine Corps has spent more of its 234 years in conflict than in peace. We the People didn’t notice this constant struggle because the fight was overseas. Skip ahead to the 20th century: advances in technology made transportation, communication, and guerrilla attacks both easier and more destructive. As a result, an ambitious terrorist could spread his organization across many nations, slip operatives into our territory, and attack with near impunity. The US military could no longer keep us safe by threatening a single offending nation, but We the People wouldn’t tolerate that "imperialism" needed to fix the problem.

Terrorists killed US servicemen for decades before 2001, but the military’s hands were tied by those they swore to protect. Finally, We the People suffered 9/11 and gave the military permission to do its job. Most Middle Eastern nations were fair targets because they supported or tolerated terrorists. If you doubt this, find a veteran infantryman and ask him how many foreigners he fought in Iraq. The US military chose to invade Iraq as a strategic foothold from which it could exert pressure on the entire Middle East– and it worked. The media lost this perspective, and We the People slowly forgot why our military is fighting.

The unfortunate reality we live with is that the US military has to fight to protect us. Ruthless men haven’t changed since 1775, so that means violence – not writing strongly worded letters and collectively scolding offending dictators. Much has been written and said about whether America should or should not have entered various conflicts, and it’s good to discuss this. However, We the People need to study our history and put current conflicts in perspective before making sweeping judgments. If we do this, we will support our troops through the right wars and keep them out of the wrong ones.