The Issue: Whether an isolationist movement is gaining ground within the Republican Party.
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While I agree that some isolationists go too far, when it comes to our economy, it worked very well in the 20th century (“About Those Republican Isolationists…” Jonah Goldberg, PostOpinion, Aug. 8).
If Goldberg took a ride through America, he would see empty steel mills, factories turned into low-income housing, and he would meet people like me who work two full-time jobs to support a family because manufacturing jobs have moved out of this country. Regulations have played a major role in this as well.
Is it fair trade for China to simply send products here, but not produce here, while we have companies like GM building cars there instead of exporting them from here?
Factory jobs were the lifeline for the middle class, which is why there are now so much fewer of us.
Isolationism is what enabled us to be a superpower and to be independent.
Free trade has made the country no different than someone on food stamps. We now go to China for everything — from toys to Sheetrock.
Adam Kosnicki
Indian Orchard, Mass.
Refusing to send aid to countries that are hostile to us or that harbor our enemies does not make us “isolationists.” If anything, it makes us pragmatic patriots.
The recipient list of American aid would dwarf that of any other country — there’s a reason why China is never on anyone’s goodwill list.
On the one hand, the entire world knows who to turn to when help is needed. On the other, it reviles America and everything it stands for.
Jim Autino
Floral Park