Hubris vs. Humility

Today at Mass, the Feast of the Holy Family, our priest spoke briefly about the virtue of Humility. As he was speaking, I thought of the last debate where the other GOP candidates outdid themselves with prideful, inflammatory remarks about occupying Iraq for 100 years and starting WWIII with Iran: "The next thing they see will be the gates of Hell;" "Introduce them to those virgins they're looking forward to seeing."

As I was listening to the sermon, it occurred to me that this rhetorical hubris is meant to depict strength. But in reality it is a sign of incredible weakness. And this weakness is completely obvious to the people these fools are trying to intimidate. A foreign policy that grows out of such hubris only emboldens an enemy. It's counterproductive.

Humility takes self-government and self-control. Humility is a sign of incredible strength and intelligence: That one's mind governs one's emotions. A foreign policy guided by humility, or a humble foreign policy such as Ron Paul advocates, and that is backed up by military might--which we have--is a thousand times stronger and makes for a much safer country.

Ron Paul's foreign policy makes sense from moral, constitutional and budgetary standpoints. It also is the only foreign policy that actually shows the world just how strong we really are. And when compared to what other candidates are advocating, would actually do more to protect American lives and American interests than all their blustering bravado that reveals a deep fear of their own weaknesses.