Issues and Options: Foreign Policy Needs to Become World Policy

A writer writes!

Our world.  We as human beings have in common the fact that we share this life, this planet, with each other.  It's not by choice.  It is just a fact.  Our governments' don't see each other as a family.  In most cases governments support the notion that we all live distinct separate lives from each other.  Some of our "lives"  benefit others while some of our experiences are only meant to benefit ourselves.  Our governments create geographic boundaries, and have created relationships with countries that distinguish "us" from "them".

To interact with other countries  governments' create a foreign policy.  That policy is a set of behaviors and actions that become the official list of acceptable and unacceptable behavior we as citizens of one country must have towards another country.  These policies are our rules of engagement. Most of us do not have the opportunity to travel regularly to other countries to learn for ourselves that people are people.  Customs may vary, food may vary, religious beliefs may vary. But, we all need food, water, and rest.  Our interaction with some "foreign" countries may be controlled by our government. Why?  In some cases there are people in other countries whose beliefs and feelings about the United States are clouded in hatred.  Those people are a danger to innocent people in the United States.  But those people should not be seen as representative of everyone in that country.  Unfortunately the views of those who would do harm onto others in another country, becomes the official viewpoint on the views of all citizens of that country. Lost is the fact that within the foreign country are people who don't feel negatively about the United States.

In the year 2013, we as an advanced civilization still result to combat and wars to resolve conflict. Diplomacy often is a last resort rather than a first resort.  Diplomacy, the act of interacting with others to talk, understand, and peacefully resolve a conflict should always be a first action.  One of the more difficult things to do is to empathize with someone you feel is the enemy.  What we are missing is that through empathy can at least come understanding as to why a conflict exists. From understanding can come possible compromises to reduce or eliminate the level of conflict.

War or armed conflict should be the last resort to resolve disputes between countries.  The world during the 20th century endured two World Wars which did not put an end to wars ever happening again.  War means that all peaceful methods have been exhausted and that the government of a country has chosen to stand firm on an issue.  At times the actions of a country's government forces the entire country into a war.  We need to realize that the actions of the government does not always reflect the will or consensus of the people in the country.  Over time the will of the people overcomes the government's foreign policies as is what happened with the United States involvement in Vietnam during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Nations on this planet need to start interacting as fellow human beings rather than the mechanical interactions of governments.  We need to stop seeing each other as foreigners.  Let's take the first step and start seeing each other as neighbors on the gigantic neighborhood of the planet Earth.  Put away the doctrine of "foreign policy".  Realize that we need to start the dialogue and journey to development of a World Policy that governs us all as human beings sharing the planet.