Maybe a naive sentiment, though I always wonder, if America had stayed out of the World Wars (and subsequently the wars following), would they(and by extension the Western world), have not been fiddling around in the middle east during the 70s/80s? One must draw the conclusion that all of the 'big brother' activity and moral policing by the West, has exposed us to negative elements, all the while lowering the respect other countries have for us and making their populace resent our presence.
Would a lower global profile, have then minimised the exposure to those parts of the world and stopped any of the blowback that we've faced in the last two decades?
Technology has obviously helped any one's cause, because it localised the globe and makes long distance into something that feels as it's a stone's throw away.
We cannot solely blame the west for bad politics, and setting up military bases where they don't belong, while getting into bed with foreign economic policies that ultimately hurt everyone's market. Maybe technology has put us on the back foot morally and ethically, and this is part of our punishment.
Something bad is coming though, and like in the streets of Russia, people will take things into their own hands.
Speaking of Russia, boy she looks more and more tempting these days as a place to settle down and(for a while) get away from this mess that America and western Europe are in.
It's a shame how our leaders made Russia out to be this enemy of the West for so long and in reality our people's had no qualms with one another. Our ways of life and views were a lot closer than any one would let you believe. It's also a place ripe with resources, land mass and they are opening up more to western ideas and reform. Putin to me is an example of a strong leader whom still employs modern ideas. He knows the U.S.S.R. died, but he isn't letting Russia die.
As I said at the start, maybe it's naive.
