By: JP Plott
The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy declaration made in 1823 by James Monroe. Its intention was to rein in the United States’ overreaching intervention in European affairs, as long as Europe recognized the Western Hemisphere as the United States’ rightful sphere of influence. This declaration from Monroe set the precedent not only for his time but also for future presidents.
Teddy Roosevelt famously leaned on this policy as justification for many of his actions during his presidency. It’s really quite a genius policy…really. How often do you have a president who is willing to relinquish the never-ending pursuit of an empire? Constantly looking abroad in search of monsters to destroy, as John Quincy Adams once stated. But when it comes to our own backyard, we will defend it strongly. We have to. Just because America is smart enough to realize that constantly seeking global domination is a recipe for disaster, it doesn’t mean we won’t defend our rightful sphere of influence.
President Trump and Pete Hegseth have been under fire as of late when it comes to the attacks on narco-terrorists coming on boats with drugs to harm Americans. The Left has screamed about war crimes, and all of a sudden has become the party of peace. Disregard President Obama’s drone strikes and Biden’s provocation of Russia via Ukraine. I stumbled across a poll this week that I found very telling. Gen-Z support for these attacks on narco-terrorist boats is currently at +34. Gen-Z, the same generation that is profoundly anti-war, strongly supports defending our homeland and the Western Hemisphere. This is because we know someone, either directly or indirectly, who has suffered at the hands of fentanyl. We’ve had friends and family members die because of the wide-open borders and lax policies when it comes to the constant flow of fentanyl from countries like Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico.
Each foreign conflict is unique and has its own reasoning and benefits. Gen-Z is against being involved in the war in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Middle East as a whole. That is not within our sphere of influence. That is not an America-first policy. Americans don’t benefit from bankrupting our nation to fight wars on behalf of other countries. Gen-Z had fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins go fight and die in the ever-so successful war on terror, and we’re tired of the neocon way of doing things. But when it comes to fighting narco-terrorists, that is inherently America first. The cartels have declared war on American citizens for years, and it’s beyond time we fight back. In 2023, 72,776 Americans died from drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What if there were missiles being shot over our border that killed that many Americans? That would be a declaration of war. Is it any different if it’s via fentanyl?
Regime change in Venezuela appears imminent, and I’m not naive enough to think that the reasoning is solely because of Venezuela’s importing of drugs into our country. However, that alone is reason enough. On top of the fact that we have a leader in Maduro directly in our own backyard who is pro-Russia and China, I say that direct conflict with Venezuela checks all of the boxes. Trump’s exercise of the Monroe Doctrine is not only necessary, but it’s got the support of Gen-Z. Protect our friends and family members from suffering at the hands of fentanyl, and let’s defend our turf from Russia and China.
By: JP Plott, Co-host of Rightside Radio
