According to former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser:

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/america-has-lost-its-way-in-the-world-20080828-44zk.html?page=-1

(He was a Liberal Party (conservative) Prime Minister. To me he represents the thoughtful, moral face of conservatism.)

An interesting read, indeed.

Yeah, I think he's exactly right. We've sacrificed the long term for the short term. I like how Bill Clinton put it this week - the world used to respect us for the power of our example, not the example of our power. What GW has done to us is sad and scary. Sometimes I think the whole world can see it clearly except our own citizens.

How can a conservative belong to a liberal party? Isn't that an oxymoron?

This is where the missionary programs of the Adventist Church come into play, at least for me...I understand from their perspective what some of the average person from outside the US are thinking.

They [those from outside the US] tend to be more liberal than the US, where as here in the US, the liberal tend to be more educated and have broaden thier horizons, so to speak. It's the uneducated that tend to follow the conservative leadership...Which I really don't understand.

The author first goes wrong by his presumption that the UN is a good vehicle for world peace. So long as the five permanent members of the UN have a veto power, any of those five can prevent the UN from taking any action against any state. The Iraq War is a perfect example of the UN failing because of this flaw. Saddam was able to bribe members of Security Council so that they would veto any action that threatened a UN war against him. Thus the UN became crippled and useless. The solution is to change the rules which would allow a 75% vote by the UN Security Council to override a veto by one of the five permanent members.

The entire article is based on the author's disagreement with the War on Terror and the Iraq War. If America's biggest offense is getting rid of a ruthless dictator, replacing him with a autonomous democracy and going after terrorists, I would say America is still a noble nation.

To Shane: I think if you read carefully, what Mr Fraser is saying is that the United Nations was a good start and a step in the right direction, but that there was more work to be done, which I think largely agrees with your position, although whether the solution is reform of the existing United Nations or some alternative body/mechanism is up for debate.

And if America is internationally known as a nation that tortures? Where is the nobility in that?

To Amelia:



The Liberal Party is the party of the Right in Australia. That may still place it to the left of much of American politics...

I think the word 'Liberal' has an older sense than 'opposite of conservative'. A 'liberal education', for example, has little to do with politics, and much to do with breadth of knowledge and vision.

The Labor Party is the party of the Left in Australia.

I am against torture, as I have stated here before. Both McCain and Obama are against torture. So I think this issue will soon be a non-issue.

It lost it's way quite some time ago, and it has little to do with external/internal politics, and has more to do with moral degradation... it is simply failing morally. That's why the Muslim countries view the west with disdain. The "western way of life" is associated with "loose morality". I.E. the marital fidelity is a non-issue. You have commercials on TV advertising agencies that help people to find an affair if they are unhappy with their current relationship.

Compared to mere 50 years ago ... the moral degradation level is staggering.

This is a world-wide issue ... not just an American one. Could you name a country that doesn't have these kinds of issues? I've been to many countries and the US is still the best.