Many “America First” advocates, especially recently, have been opposed to additional support for Ukraine and other allies of America. They say we need, almost solely, to focus on domestic issues. They bring up homelessness, crime, and other issues that I strongly agree need to be taken care of, but I firmly believe that if you are America First, you should support American allies overseas from Ukraine to Israel and beyond like Taiwan.
Earlier this year, I attended a Nikki Haley for President event in Gilbert, South Carolina. Haley, a staunch Republican and former Ambassador to the United Nations, pointed out that Ukraine specifically has always had America’s back at the UN, standing with America when no other nation would. Israel and America have always had a strong relationship since Israel came into existence. America’s support for Israel, especially after the Hamas terror attack, spans far across the political spectrum–and we should keep it that way. Only 10 Representatives voted against a resolution in late October 2023 that states that America stands in solidarity with Israel, and the resolution was the first piece of legislation brought up after the House elected a new Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, more said that they would vote against any actual aid for Israel, but it does no good to say you support Israel or other nations like Ukraine without actually taking action to do so.
One of the representatives opposing support for Israel is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). Greene has been a major “America First” voice in Congress. I am writing this in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston, ME. Rep. Greene says that, along with putting money going towards our allies towards a border wall, we should instead put that money toward mental health funding. But I would like to counter that proposal: fund both.
America First doesn’t mean just focusing on domestic problems. In my opinion, we can, should, and must take on issues here at home and abroad if we truly want to put America First. We can take care of our fellow Americans here at home and help our allies overseas. We need strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and Israel.
Russia, China, North Korea, and Hamas are, in my opinion, flat-out enemies of America, and those whom they attack are also strong allies of America. We must show this same bipartisan support for Ukraine, Israel, and other American allies. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was unjust, and Putin has committed hundreds of war crimes in the nation. Putin is not a friend, Ukraine is. As Haley said, Ukraine has always had America’s back, and we must have theirs, especially at this moment in history.
Some people bring up the cost of this, but the cost of letting Putin win in Ukraine is far greater than the cost of helping our ally. And as others have pointed out, we are not just sending crates of cash to Ukraine. At this point, most of what we a send to Ukraine is surplus weapons sitting in warehouses. And what we are giving Ukraine is worth it. Look at the success Ukraine is having. By giving Ukraine a tiny fraction of American supplies, they have already destroyed HALF of Russia’s military force. It’s also worth mentioning that supporting Ukraine is not costing any American lives. Others say that it’s taking Ukraine too long, but let me put the length of this into perspective. World War One lasted for four years, World War Two lasted six and the American Revolution lasted for seven years. It has been just over 600 days since Ukraine was invaded by Russia. Their counterattack against Russia is strong, and we cannot give up on them now.
Another thing I think is included in “America First” is to support democracy & American values abroad and stand up for human rights across the globe. The Chinese Communist Party has continued to crack down and suppress religion, including Christianity, in China and has been committing genocide against the Uyghur people in East Turkistan. China famously has a long history of suppressing democracy in Hong Kong ever since the British gave Hong Kong back to China. China is not a friend of America, and we should fully stand behind our allies in that area. We should support a free Hong Kong, a free East Turkestan, a free Tibet, and a free Taiwan. With tensions rising fast in the region, we must stand boldly behind our allies in that part of the world.
For America to be strong domestically, we must be strong on the foreign front. While I know we have a lot of problems here at home, we still must support our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. If our allies are attacked and America just leaves them to fend for themselves, it makes America look weak, and we will become the laughingstock of the international community. China is already building up in Africa and South America through BRICS and investing in these nations’ infrastructure programs. America must counter this by supporting our allies–specifically Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. I believe it’s the least we can do in a time like this.
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