Quote of the Week...from George H.W. Bush

We don't want an America that is closed to the world. What we want is a world that is open to America.                                                   ---George H.W. Bush

I'm not sure when and in what context our 41st president, who just died a week ago, made the above statement, but it is very relevant to what is going on today with the current administration and its "America First" mantra. Bush, for his part as president, was a big advocate for the United States being in networks of alliances and trade treaties...in the Persian Gulf War, he had as allies both Israel and Syria: now that's an accomplishment! Contrast that with Donald Trump's skepticism about standing alliances and trade treaties: he prefers to deal with other nations on a bilateral basis, understanding that in doing so the United States is almost always the stronger party and cannot be voted down by a bloc of others. His trade disputes with other countries, most particularly China, are not based on wanting to isolate or close us from them but rather to confront them with their policies which prevent or greatly restrict our goods being marketed and sold there.  He ultimately wants...and I agree with him on this...truly free trade between the countries of the world, not just on our side, and he has been using his speeches, Twitter, and tariffs as a means to pressure these other countries to reform their unfair trade practices.  Also, some of these nations steal American innovations without compensation...I guess in that way they're open to America!

As for our borders, I also tend to side with our current president for stronger border security.  As an American I can't just pack up and go to any other country I want without documentation or that country's implicit permission...the same should apply for others seeking entrance into my own country, from whatever source it may be...south of our border, England, Russia, China, or elsewhere.  I guess in all of this I want a level field between us and the rest of the world and not one in which it almost always seems to be the United States that must make concessions to others.  So with regard to our recently departed former president's quote, I would agree with both parts: I don't want America closed off from the world, and I want the world to be open to what we have to offer it.  But I don't want us in the process to be ripped off, either...