Jimmy Carter takes aim at U.S. global presence in this piece. I couldn’t agree with his statements more:

Some new approaches have understandably evolved from quick and well-advised reactions by President Bush to the tragedy of Sept. 11, but others seem to be developing from a core group of conservatives who are trying to realize long-pent-up ambitions under the cover of the proclaimed war against terrorism . . . Formerly admired almost universally as the preeminent champion of human rights, our country has become the foremost target of respected international organizations concerned about these basic principles of democratic life . . . Belligerent and divisive voices now seem to be dominant in Washington, but they do not yet reflect final decisions of the president, Congress or the courts.

People have called George Bush a “Constitutional Dictator,” but he’s not in control of his cabinet right now, and that’s seen in the points that Carter asserts in his article.

Now I also just read this, and it made me think this. Yes, James; that’s you sitting there taking the blood of our patriots and turning it into the hatred that clouds the minds of Americans and aids our government in making poor foreign policy decisions. Think about it . . . People don’t just fly airplanes into buildings because we stole their lunch money. There are things that we need to fix about the way we interact with the rest of the world, and people are losing sight of this fact by the war now rhetoric spouted by our government officials.

There’s a guy a couple cubes down from me who is the biggest “patriot” in the office. He’s a volunteer fireman with all sorts of red, white, and blue remember this and never forget that stuff all over his cube. He’s got an American flag hanging on the shades at his window and little American flag Christmas lights draped like bunting across the borders of his cube. I forgive the fact that it’s terribly tacky, but I can’t forgive his blind national pride.