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By Michelle L Tafur Categories: Political strategy The Challenge: For the remainder of the Roosevelt Institution as we acknowledge it as an outstanding catalyst of policy research and awareness, the Roosevelt Institution should promote peaceful politics by means of demilitarization of American approaches to domestic and international affairs. How the proposed Challenge meets the challenge criteria: Applicable throughout the geographic United States Approachable at local, state, and national levels of government Approachable from a variety of academic disciplines and specialties In the United States, the citizens of this country are outrageously gung-ho about the military and the dominant impression it gives those that support defensive/military approaches to negotiating or resolving domestic and international affairs. I believe by changing the attitude Americans take towards foreigners/immigrants and violence domestically, it would directly change the attitude the American government takes with the military and its approaches with international affairs. This idea if taken into consideration with open arms and minds would be acheivable on all levels of government because with local, state, and national levels of government working together, the United States policy on foreign affairs and the approaches it takes to those would change indefinitely. By reaching those people at local and state levels, working for a change in the United States, would speak volumes on a national level. Vision or background behind the proposed Challenge: Since our involvement in World War Two, the United States has incresingly taken a militaristic approach to dealing with people and governments. After WWII, came the Cold War and even further our decent into an almost irreversible means of dealing with foreign politics and the race to build an indestructible military. With this new form of politics that set its course in the United States, came new generations of Americans and their attitudes changing drastically with the times. We have been conditioned to accept military use as a first and foremost approach to resolving issues; only by which the situation becomes worse and impossible to use a means of intelligence or diplomacy instead. I believe the United States needs to become a resolved and resolute country, to make an impact on the international communtity and to prove to ourselves that this beautiful nation built on the utmost integrity and forethought of our founding fathers is still as pure as it was in its earliest days of development and progress. Why Roosevelt should take on this Challenge over others: It is our duty as the latest generation to begin to make an impact to change that which we all instictively see as a threat to the goodwill of this nation and the world. I belive we can start this movement with the Roosevelt Institution. We can begin, in our youth, to show those before and after us, that our nation can once again be dominant with resolution and without the means of miltary/defensive force imposed upon our friends and developing nations. Comments John A Uhl, Thu 27 Jul 1:39 pm PST: This is an incredibly important issue, not only because of the horrors of War, and the counter-productive nature of our current approach, but because it diverts nearly a trillion dollars per year (worldwide) from necessary things like education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, etc. that we "can't afford" now as a result. Eric Mitzenmacher, Thu 27 Jul 8:37 pm PST: While this seems like it would be a great individual or small group project, coordination across the nation will be difficult. The arguments for demilitarization are largely philosophical in nature and thus require a heavy commitment for each step taken to be at all meaningful. Whereas the challenges are an appropriate vehicle for policy objectives that may benefit from mass innovation and a diversity of new perspectives, demilitarization of the American mindset would require a unified front that I don't think the Challenges will provide. Jillian S Maclearie, Sun 30 Jul 9:47 pm PST: â��Demilitarizing American mindsâ�� -In order to demilitarize the American mind, we need to restore public faith in diplomacy. The current administration, with two wars under way and having elected John Bolton as a U.N. ambassador, is no shining example. It would be interesting to see this as a 50/50 issue: both actively pursuing peace through diplomacy as well as ending war. Kai H Stinchcombe, Sun 30 Jul 10:40 pm PST: While important, I don't think this is a policy issue -- I think it's an issue for media groups, political campaigns, and issue lobbies, but I can't imagine a policy proposal coming out of it. Is there a way to reframe this one?   The Roosevelt Institution is a nonpartisan, nonprofit national think tank devoted to bringing students' policy ideas to the policy process. The opinions expressed on this site are exclusively those of its members. DC Headquarters: Roosevelt Institution / 2100 M St NW Suite 610 / Washington, DC 20037 || (202) 833-1359