A famous political commentator once compared getting a consensus among libertarians to herding cats, he wasnt wrong.
Those who identify as libertarians range from the classical liberals (in the mold of our Founding Fathers) to those libertines who simply wish for marijuana and maybe a few other recreational drugs to be legalized (you know who you are).
However, there are some commonalities among libertarians. For instance, libertarians tend to fall within the isolationist range of the foreign policy spectrum. There really arent many who identify as libertarians, who believe that the United States should be the world police; the ones who need to solve every crisis or topple every corrupt regime out there. There is a big world outside of the United States and, while I am certainly not advocating policing the world, I would like to draw attention to our relationship with one country Israel and why that relationship is important.
1. Israel is our ally. Normally, a country like ours treats their allies well and their enemies very cautiously, but this policy flew out the window during the two terms of President Obama.
President Obama took office, returned a gift (a bust of Winston Churchill) from our closest ally, Great Britain, and gave Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu the cold shoulder; going so far as to allow (by our silence) the United Nations to pass a sanction against Israel something no previous president would have ever allowed.
All this happened while he was touring the world and apologizing for Americas sins while giving the red carpet treatment to those who hate us (like the Iranian mullahs).
Granted, the UN Security Council has a closer resemblance to the Star Wars bar scene than a serious, powerful organization; but it is still something that would never have been allowed before.
Israel is a valuable ally in the middle east and has supplied us with valuable intelligence in our fight to protect our country from more terrorist attacks.
2. Israel is a stable democracy. Israel is the only stable democracy in a region ruled by tyrants or militants.
While I dont think it is Americas place to dictate policy to other countries, it is smart to support like-minded countries. Yes, Israel is a bit too socialist for me, but its an absolute paradise compared to the rest of the region.
Judaism is obviously the majority religion of that country, but unlike the other countries in the region, Israel allows those of minority religions (like Christians) to worship freely, without fear of punishment or death. Im sure the Coptic Christians in Egypt would have appreciated that freedom, or the Yazidis in Iraq after ISIS took over.
Israel is also not ruled by a dictator, but by a deliberative body of a multi-housed government. Its stability is welcoming to investors and businesses, all to the enrichment of its people.
3. Israel is hated by our enemies, both foreign and domestic. We have common enemies whether we like it or not. Islamic terrorists hate us because of who we are infidels!
To them, Israel is the little Satan and the United States is the great Satan.
Unfortunately for Israel, they are surrounded by those who use the catch phrase Jews to the sea more often than Americans say bless you to someone who sneezes and their enemies mean it!
The threat isnt going away on its own either, no matter how much we try to ignore or appease those who would do us harm.
As for domestic enemies, those in the United States who wish for the demise of our country for ideological reasons (that it was founded by racists, guilty of sexism, and rich by stealing the resources of the world, etc.) also dislike Israel for the same reasons. To them, Israelis are the oppressors; stealing the land and resources of the poor, downtrodden Arabs. And theyre probably guilty of bigotry and homophobia as well.
While there is plenty of room for discussion about how much support we should give to Israel (financial support, weapons, intelligence, or simply having their back with the UN), the relationship between our countries is definitely something that we should be watching. This alliance is in the best interest of the United States.
* Christine Luc is a chiropractor, small business owner, and mother who loves to rant about the size and scope of government. She loves this website as it has given her a chance to put her ranting tendencies to constructive use.
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Why Israel Matters - Being Libertarian