Many of us would agree that our nation has some interests in stability in the Mideast and other parts of the world. However, it would appear that in recent history we have great difficulty in defining those interests and where the line should be drawn to involvement in foreign conflict.

As well, there’s strong evidence that our perception of how things should be in foreign countries is rather faulty at times.

In recent years, we have used the expression “spreading democracy.” That’s a rather generous term for what acutally happens when it turns out that we are trying to “force democracy,” — a blatant contradiction of terms in that democracy is a concept that should come from within, echoed by considerable public outcry and incredible determination by those desiring it.

In his column today on this page, Pat Buchanan gives us a harsh yet appropriate commentary on the same.

Although there is strong evidence that we sometimes take it for granted, we in the U.S. enjoy a democratic republic that we refer to simply as “democracy.” By comparison, we are still very young in our develoment and still have much leeway to screw it all up. While our democratic experiment has worked for us more times than it has not, we fail to understand that nations much, much older than us are just as devoted to a tribal nature that does not parallel what we embrace. It apparently is difficult for us to understand that some nations want something else.

Hundreds of years from now, analysts may look upon what we do now much as how we look upon the “Great Crusades” hundreds of years ago.

Buchanan makes a very good point in quoting John Quincy Adams.

“America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.”

We might have thought such philosophy would have been underscored following the Vietnam War. Obviously it wasn’t.