Omar's Loyalties
Representative Ilhan Omar stated on Tuesday, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, that she brings a "perspective of a foreigner" to U.S. foreign policy. She continued, “It's important for me to think about what an overhaul of our foreign policy should look like from the standpoint of really thinking how it impacts those around the world, and where our values intersect with what's happening. We spend a lot of money in engaging unwinnable wars, and I don't think it matches with the values of trying to create prosperity in the United States.”
The question for Americans to ask of her comment is, "do we need the kind of perspective she brings with her?"
What we need to examine when it comes to public policy is which decisions are going to be most beneficial to our nation and its citizens, economy, culture, and safety, primarily; to our allies and geographic neighbors, secondarily; and to the rest of the world after that. The impact our foreign and domestic policies have on other countries, of course, must be weighed on the global stage, but our top concern is for our own citizens. When we make policy, truly the only perspectives that are applicable and appropriate are from those who have the U.S.' best interests in mind and as a top priority.
Furthermore, when our policymakers propose legislation, the rubric against which we weigh the legitimacy of these proposals must be whether they reflect and reinforce our founding principles; the principles of liberation of the individual in a framework of Judeo-Christian values, namely.
Is Somali-born Rep. Omar capable of producing these kinds of results considering her continuous rhetoric in the way of Obama’s mantra to “fundamentally transform America?” Whether cognizant or not of her words and actions, Omar has, so far, created a pattern of remarks generally regarded as anti-Semitic, and is (or at least was as recently as November) duly in favor of the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions of Israel) movement. The words and beliefs she espouses seem to be common among her and her peers, such as Rep. Rashida Talib.
As we examine her growing public and legislative portfolio, we must consider whether Omar practices and promotes allegiances to an ideology foreign and incompatible to our own.