Making The Case For An Engaged America

"I’ve listened to farmers and factory workers and teachers and nurses and students, hardworking mothers and fathers who wonder why is their government spending taxpayer dollars to improve the lives of people in the developing world when there is so much hardship and unmet needs right here at home. That’s a fair question, and it’s one I would like to address today: Why development in other countries matters to the American people and to our nation’s security and prosperity.

The United States seeks a safer, more prosperous, more democratic, and more equitable world. We cannot be assured of that progress when one-third of humankind lives in conditions that offer them little chance of building better lives for themselves or their children.

We cannot stop terrorism or defeat the ideologies of violent extremism when hundreds of millions of young people see a future with no jobs, no hope, and no way ever to catch up to the developed world.

We cannot build a stable global economy when hundreds of millions of workers and families find themselves on the wrong side of globalization, cut off from markets and out of reach of modern technologies.

We cannot rely on regional partners to help us stop conflicts and counter global criminal networks when those countries are struggling to stabilize and secure their own societies."

- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, January 6, 2010

As Secretary of State Clinton has said, an active and engaged foreign policy is in America’s best interest. Here are some points you may find helpful to “make the case”:

Building and strengthening alliances with other nations means America has more allies to work with us against international threats.

In the 21st century, the dangers that confront us cross national borders – and we need international cooperation to fight them. According to a bipartisan poll for the US Global Leaders Council, 88% of US military officers surveyed agree that “a strong military alone is not enough to protect America; we also need to improve diplomatic relations and do more to promote stability in the world by improving health, education, and economic opportunity in other countries.”

America’s economy does best when other nations are doing well.

We need trading partners who buy our manufactured and agricultural products as well as investors in American securities and businesses.

“Whether it’s supporting farmers to grow crops, helping to build better roads so goods can be driven to markets, or teaching children in order to build a more educated workforce, all of these things add to the economic well-being of a country, which, in turn, means new markets are available for American goods.”
- Chris Policinski, CEO, Land O’Lakes

Encouraging education, economic opportunity and good governance, help to build a more secure and safer world.

Stable, democratic nations are far less likely to engage in war or to host terrorist organizations. Stronger health infrastructures enable all of us to fight the danger of international pandemics.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Survey on the US Role in Global Health Update 2009, “55 percent of Americans agree that U.S. spending to improve health in developing countries helps protect the health of Americans by preventing the spread of epidemics to the U.S.”

Supporting human rights - speaking up for the rights of every person, and against oppression because of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation means living up to our values around the world.

“You can’t preach hate and not accept responsibility for the way that hate is manifested,” said The New York Times of the proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda. We can’t tolerate hatred and oppression in other countries while maintaining our own rights and freedoms here at home.

Investing in women and girls may be the wisest investment we can make.

“Women are the third world’s greatest underutilized resource,” said Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. “Educating girls and bringing them into the formal economy will yield economic dividends and help address global poverty.” Secretary Clinton agrees, pledging that “today, the United States is taking steps to put women front and center in our development work.”