Posted on 03/31/2003 10:01:39 AM PST by conservativecorner
We believe action to speak louder than words, but it is words that we employ to recall those actions.
The following words, spoken by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, are about as good a review of America as we've found in a long time, especially now at a time of war and of varied pundits and arm-chair generals who often leave out the sacrifices that America has made on behalf of her global neighbors.
On Jan. 26, 2003, Powell spoke before a World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In response to questions posed by George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Powell said this:
"We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years and we've done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives.
"And we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home to seek our own ... to seek our own lives in peace, to live our own lives in peace."
Powell also reviewed America's use of so-called "soft power" and "hard power":
"The United States believes strongly in what you call soft power, the value of democracy, the value of the free economic system, the value of making sure that each citizen is free and free to pursue their own God-given ambitions and to use the talents that they were given by God. And that is what we say to the rest of the world. That is why we participated in establishing a community of democracy within the Western Hemisphere. It's why we participate in all of these great international organizations.
"There is nothing in American experience or in American political life or in our culture that suggests we want to use hard power. But what we have found over the decades is that unless you do have hard power -- and here I think you [the former archbishop] are referring to military power -- then sometimes you are faced with situations that you can't deal with.
"I mean, it was not soft power that freed Europe. It was hard power. And what followed immediately after hard power? Did the United States ask for dominion over a single nation in Europe? No. Soft power came in the Marshall Plan. Soft power came with American GIs who put their weapons down once the war was over and helped all those nations rebuild. We did the same thing in Japan.
"So our record of living our values and letting our values be an inspiration to others I think is clear. And I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of or apologize for with respect to what America has done for the world."
From our desk, then, to yours, Insight on the News.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.