As Super Tuesday looms closer and closer, more and more of us are trying to get a quick fix of information on each candidate. Normally, we tend to pay attention to domestic issues because they directly impact us, which makes sense. But I’m here to tell you that candidate stances on foreign policy are just as, if not more, important. Why? Because how the United States deals with other countries almost always ties in with domestic issues anyways. Think about it. When the President calls for the deployment of troops to a country to solve a diplomatic issue, it’s our troops that go. When we impose sanctions on a country, it’s our trade that gets impacted. If that doesn’t convince you, I’ll try in the next couple of paragraphs.
Let’s start with the one that makes sense: immigration. This one may seem domestic because it is frequently visited in every debate, but it is a foreign policy issue. Immigration is also more than what the candidates make it out to be. It’s not just building (or not building) a wall and Mexico. It is refugees and visas from hundreds of other countries that are accepted and denied every day and how they are perceived by our government. When you go to look at a candidate’s stance on immigration, make sure to check out the issue from all sides and not just whether we should have a wall or not.
Up next: Saudi Arabia. I’m not talking about pictures of Dubai on Instagram. I’m talking about the United State’s relationship with the country. If you didn’t know, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have had decades of friendly relations because, to put it simply, we needed their oil. At the time, the U.S. was not a major energy powerhouse yet, so their oil was essential, and in return, we gave them access to global markets and securities. If you don’t understand what’s so strange about that deal, it’s the U.S.’s history of not really being “chill” with authoritarian dictatorships, so, as you can imagine, Saudi Arabia-U.S. relations have always been questionable. On top of that, President Trump signed an $8.1 billion (BILLION) arms deal with the Saudis in the midst of their war on Yemen.
Why should you care? Besides, hopefully having a sliver of empathy, I don’t really know if you want an unstable government just chilling with billions of dollars of grade A weaponry. Plus, Saudi Arabia is a huge investor in companies like Amazon because, well, they want to know what’s going on in our country. If that doesn’t matter to you, I don’t really know what to tell you. Now many of the democratic candidates believe that it’s now time to cut ties with the Saudis and stop supporting a repressive regime, but check out their platforms before deciding if that’s the way to go with this government.
Lastly, climate change, which believe it or not, is an international issue. I know, sounds stupid, but many people often forget that it is impacting the world, not just us, and up until the past few years, foreign policy was used to combat what is happening. The Paris Climate Agreement (aka Paris Accord) had a goal of decreasing the global temperature increase this century by two degrees. This may sound like nothing, but it is a major deal if we can get it to happen. In the simplest terms, it was supposed to happen by all the signatories reducing their greenhouse gases significantly and created a framework for accountability between all 185 countries who signed the treaty.
The U.S. was one of the largest parties in the agreement who called for significant transparency and also agreed to help pay for the cost of higher pollution standards in smaller countries. However, this past November, the United States began formally withdrawing from the agreement and several other laws regarding carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, and pollution for companies have been deregulated. While that may not seem like that big of a deal, the U.S. was on track to cut pollution by 25% by 2025, which is a ridiculous amount. Now, we are nowhere near that goal. This may seem a little more self-explanatory as to why it should matter to you, but I’m here to remind you to keep this as you vote on Super Tuesday.
This was not a fun article to write, I promise you. Researching the world’s (and specifically our) issues is pretty grim, but that is why this is important. We need to start thinking more globally because it is a bigger world than our 330 million people here, much bigger. More than that, we are the leaders. We lead the change or lack of worldwide, so it is not just politicians’ responsibility but also our responsibility to care. This time we can really make a difference not just for ourselves but also for people like us all around the world, so get out and vote on March 3 no matter what. Start taking responsibility for the world around you.