If They Could Only Love Their Country More Than They Hate Their Adversaries

Nuclear weapons in the hands of responsible, rational, peace-seeking governments who truly care for their citizens aren’t as dangerous as when these WMDs are owned by extreme hot-headed, hate-dipped dictators. This was the case with Saddam Hussein, and this is the state of play with Iran. Furthermore, this is the reason why concerned leaders of the world are terrified by the prospects of letting the Ayatollah possess that kind of colossal venom. They know that the Iranian leader is capable of using his nuclear bomb, not simply as a deterrent, but either for intimidation of his neighboring states or as a weapon of war, designed to wipe his chosen nemeses off the map.

While nuclear weapons in the hands of responsible governments may never be set off in advancing their political goals, these weapons will likely be deployed by ruthless fanatics whose hate-filled souls take precedence over their love for their own citizens. The Iranian leadership is packed by suicide bombers whose belts could be replete with fissile material ready to detonate at the sight of a Zionist—only if we let them have it.

The same applies to the Tea Party members of the US Congress. The debt Ceiling instrument is potentially a financial weapon of mass destruction. However, as long as Congress included a majority of reasonable legislatures, willing to compromise for the sake of the country, the debt ceiling instrument served only as a reminder that government debt needed to be regulated. On the other hand, once Congress grew into a house controlled by extreme ideologues, whose hate for their president dwarfed their love for their country, they bullied, intimidated, then tried, could and would deploy that weapon in their attempt to destroy the president and his accomplishments. They would try to prevent the debt ceiling from rising; they didn’t and wouldn’t mind if the US defaulted on its debt and the world economy collapsed in consequence, as long as the “black, African-born, communist, fascist, Muslim dictator with the alien name, Obama,” is damaged beyond repair. These Tea Party aficionados do not even realize the fact that they are potential suicide bombers whose belts are stuffed with financial weapons of mass destruction; they are quite comparable to the Iranian leadership.

The only way going forward—if world security bears any merit—is to prevent extremists from employing and producing WMDs. This conclusion applies to the Iranian regime outside the US and to the Tea Party domestically. The most effective way of preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear bombs is to keep applying economic pressure along with potential military threats on them. The best way to prevent the Tea Party from replaying the default scenario is to abolish the debt ceiling once and for all, preventing it from becoming a weapon of mass financial destruction in the hands of ideological extremists.  

The US is the only country in the world with a debt ceiling. (Denmark is the only other country which has a debt ceiling, but it is set far above the country’s actual debt; it is not a real constraint on government spending). Defaulting on US government obligations is unimaginable. It should never take place. Any time the US government approaches the debt ceiling it must raise it. It makes no sense to have a non-constraint constraint while letting it become an instrument that can be used by Tea Party-like enthusiasts to spawn a worldwide financial disaster.  The US debt ceiling must be abolished. Instead, the discussion concerning government spending should focus on the annual budget, and once it is determined; once it has been agreed upon, the effected government obligations must be honored.

Let’s prevent fanatics from bringing about massive damage when their hate for their adversaries exceeds their love for their country. Let’s prevent them from having access to WMDs. It’s time.