I am baffled by the belief of many Americans that we are an island to ourselves. Words like “America First” is a catchy phrase but what does it really mean? If we keep Americans from fighting and dying on foreign soil, we are putting America first. If we infuse cash into our military industrial complex, we are putting America first and supporting our economy. If we aid a country that is fighting our long time enemy and laying down their lives, we are putting America first.

     There were many journalists and other people in the pre-World War II years when an isolationist attitude was common. Prominent people like Charles Lindberg, for example, was not in favor of starting a conflict with Hitler. But by December 7, 1941, it became obvious that it would not be possible to avoid an armed conflict between the US and the Axis, and it is a good thing we did or we would be speaking German now.         
     We do not exist in a vacuum. What we do affects not just us but the rest of the world. And what they do likewise is bi-directional. When Putin invaded a peaceful sovereign neighbor and threatened the rest of the world with nuclear conflict, it is not possible to stick your head in the sand like so many of our politicians seem to advocate. It is a foolish idea that we can just isolate ourselves from Europe and Asia. We are the most powerful country in the world whether we like it or not. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our fellow inhabitants of this planet to be involved in just about everything. Over ¼ of our GDP depends on our foreign imports and exports. Our financial well-being and, ultimately, our survival depend on our worldwide trading partners and our allies. That is putting America first.           

     NATO is an organization to which we have belonged since 1949. It is an alliance that originally was created to defend against the USSR, and now against Russia. It currently has 31 member states. Article V of its charter states that any attack on one member state is an attack on all states. That is a very strong statement not to be taken lightly. Certainly, we need to be concerned about who pays the bills for any organization we belong to, but that is not the only criterion for maintaining alliances. Two-thirds of NATO members now pay 2% of their GDP, the agreed-upon price tag. The other third is still below but working to reach that 2% goal. The fact that they will come to our defense with their men and arms if attacked is not to be ignored and is a powerful promise. To threaten to leave such an organization and to invite Russia to attack them is not short of certifiably insane, besides not very smart. And it is a clear example of how to avoid putting America First.   

     There is little question that we should not admit terrorists or other criminals into our country, whether or not we send weapons to Ukraine, which is an entirely separate issue. That is a function of Homeland Security completely separate from foreign policy.  Likewise, Fentanyl is a very potent and potentially lethal drug. It should not be distributed freely without close monitoring by physicians versed in narcotic use. Again, that is not an America First issue. It needs to be done regardless of what we do with Ukraine. Our failure here is a lack of drug enforcement and not aid to Ukraine.
     If we do not support Ukraine, our risk of needing to be involved with “boots on the ground” intervention increases without a doubt if you believe our past and present Generals who run the Pentagon. They know more about it than Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert put together. And we are most certainly putting America First by sending tanks instead of men into combat.

     Putin is a master of deception. Putin says what he must do to advance his propaganda. If he wants to get rid of the Nazis, he will have to start with himself. Ukraine has no Nazis if the words of the chief Rabbi of Kyiv have any value. He says that no sane person would believe such rubbish.  Putin presents a fabricated story of his making to confuse the gullible among us.  He weaves a fairy tale of how Ukraine and Russia are one people, and that he has been sent by God to reunite according to Patriarch Kirill a strong supporter of Putin and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rumor has it that his predecessor, Patriarch Alexei II, met an untimely death when his head “accidentally” collided with a porcelain toilet bowl multiple times in 2009. Putin’s enemies have a habit of meeting an untimely death. The count is close to 50 now, including Alexei Navalny, the 47-year-old lawyer that Putin kept in a Siberian prison and who mysteriously fell unconscious after a walk and died shortly thereafter. As Tucker Carlson explained to us recently, “Leadership requires killing people.” That is probably why Trump considers Putin so smart!        
     One sure way to know if something is putting America First is to see Putin’s response. If he roots for it, rest assured, it is not putting America First.