All is Riot on the Eastern Front

I am typing this on a Mac.

As I am typing this I am drinking coffee that is entirely too strong and too sweet.

I am also a college student between the age of 17 and 30 and I come from a middle-class, rural-suburban upbringing.

I am also a musician.

And with that introduction, I just turned off anybody who has attended a Tea Party protest this year. I can see the words "hippie" and "liberal" oozing from your lips much like the cheap beer you drink does after you've had a 6-pack too many.

And for my next trick, I will introduce an even more radical left-wing and communist idea: end the war already.

This hippie is actually not a hippie at all, and in fact I would consider myself more conservative than anything. You are already thinking: you want to end the war, so you hate America. Quite the opposite actually.

It is not economically feasible to wage two wars on two fronts while simultaneously attempting to overhaul healthcare, maintain humanitarian efforts in developing nations, kick the illegal immigrants out, and fight the war on drugs. All of these policies are a threat to not only the American dollar, but a threat to American people.

Threat number one: the wars in Central Asia. If you have watched the news lately, you might have noticed that Iran, a regional superpower, is once again flexing its muscles westward and preparing for what it feels is an inevitable battle with the West. And while Americans (and even more Iraqis and Afghanis) are dying daily in our already occurring wars, we have the audacity to threaten yet another nation, which, if taken to the point of warfare, would undoubtedly cost many more lives. How is this fighting terror? To put it simply: if there are no man (and women) overseas to die, no men or women will die overseas. SImple enough?

Now a very simple economic principle, balancing the budget, could help America get out of the economic mess it's in. Wars cost money, and money is something that America does not have. So, naturally, America must borrow money to fund its overseas adventures and battles. This borrowing of money, much like the overuse of a credit card, escalates out of control rapidly and causes economic disparity. If America keeps spending like a fourteen-year-old girl with her dad's platinum card, eventually the limit will be reached, the creditors will be called, and daddy won't be very happy. By continuing this ongoing war on terror, which has cost us unprecedented amounts of money, we are spiraling further and further in debt as a nation, forcing the near future to look quite dim.

Threat number two: the war at home. Contrary to the wisdom of our forefathers, Americans love laws, taxes, and regulations, or at least their voting record seems to reflect that. America like seatbelt laws, and love to see them enforced; unless the laws are enforced on them, then they are inconvenient. America likes drug laws; why should we show compassion for the guy who smokes a joint after working a 12-hour day and gets busted for possession; that same guy who, when he gets out of court, will no longer have a job, but will still have to feed himself. And of course rehab in prison is a wonderful system:charge the "crook" with possession, charge him or her court fees, send him or her to jail, put a felony on their record, kick them back out on the street, and expect them to find work in something other than dealing coke. Right. American's also hate competition: the illegal immigrants are taking jobs and benefits from American workers. Yet most Americans who believe this believe welfare is a corrupt system (which it is) and with that reasoning, having an illegal worker apart of that system should not be a surprise. How many millions of Polish, Irish, Italian, German, and Anglo immigrants came to America as stowaways (I know my grandfather did) in search of a better life? Yet since these citizens are of a brown colored skin, it seems like they are stealing our livelihood.

Let's stop policing the world and our fellow Amercans and humans. Let's stop wasting money (which, in case you've forgotten, is a Conservative ideal) on laws and policies that do more harm than good.

As Americans we need to take care of ourselves before we start trying to teach the world how to take care of themselves.