The Role Of The U.S. In The

Third World In The Year 2000 Essay, Research Paper

The Role of the U.S. in the Third World in the Year 2000

The United States budget will continue to tighten and we must better

utilize our dollars spent on Third World aid. The questions of illegal

immigration, the population explosion, and environmental issues will become

vital to our future. With closer linkage of US aid to these issues we can get

the most bang for our buck.

The best way to stop illegal immigration into the United States is not

to erect higher fences at our borders, but to invest in the third world,

primarily Mexico. Providing jobs at home where they enjoy life without worry

about the INS is the best solution. This solution will be cheaper than

increasing funding for border patrols and INS personnel. If we were able to

keep most illegal immigrates home, the more impoverished they would become and

the greater the incentive for them to cross the border. By investing and

improving their homeland, more people would stay home, rather than take the

dangerous journey to an unknown country to provide food for their families.

Slowing down population rates of third world countries must be another

priority. Empowering women in third world countries, giving them

independence from their husband and a choice in birth control is a start.

Smaller grants similar to Foundation of the Philippine Environment can reward

particular actions of foreign government, whether it be environmental, social or

economic. Too many of current policies are aimed at creating markets for our

commercial interests.

We must also link aid with environmental issues, making the rain forest

and jungles more profitable to locals without bulldozing them. This has been

demonstrated in Uganda with the mountain gorillas. Eco-tourism is helping the

local economies and the national governments. This was also working in Rwanda

until Civil War tore this country apart. Fortunately the mountain gorillas

have been left alone for the most part, since this was their third largest

income provider and the number one and two sources, coffee and tea fields were

destroyed during the war.

Worldwide instant communication has improved human rights. The use of

fax machines and cell telephones during the Tiananmen Square uprising informed

the world of events and somewhat restrained the Chinese. Dan Rather doing the

evening news from the Square while the protests were happening prevented the

massacre from being ignored. The advent of CNN has put instant news into the

hands of people all over the world. The World Wide Web is now letting people

put their stories doing. This is starting at Universities and will

exponentially expand as the equipment gets cheaper and students will move into

the work force. This newest communication tool will help put pressure on

authoritarian regimes that normally a free press would provide.

We must not ignore the Third World countries for many parts of our

inter-cities are becoming Third World. Their problems will become our problems.

There is a growing isolationist movement in this country. This has never

solved problems, only postponed and enlarged the problems.