The victors write the history books. This is not a fact that is to be taken lightly. Our whole lives we have looked upon our country's history through our own perspective. But the lines of good and evil are more blurred than they appear — especially today. So, as resentment and disdain for the United States grows throughout the world, and our military involvement reaches new heights, we must take it upon ourselves to examine the factors at work behind the infinite struggle of good and evil.

What does it mean to be good? What does it mean to be evil? How is evil defined? Contrary to the beliefs of many diplomats, philosophers and various other great thinkers, matters of good and evil, in themselves, are not complicated affairs. It is as simple as determining where you stand.

For instance, if you were a Russian supporter of the communist U.S.S.R. during the Cold War, than obviously you were on the side of good and were opposed to all the evils of those damned American Yankees. Similarly, if you were loyal British citizen during the American Revolution there's no denying that you rooted for what was good and that those tax-evading rebel American colonists were the bad guys. It really is that simple, it's ultimately an opinion determined through perspective and position.

Moreover, good and evil can only be defined by way of comparison to one another. That is, in order to even begin to determine that something is good you must have already recognized something else as evil. Similarly, good and evil can only exist, as ideas, by way of comparison to one another. You could not have good if there were nothing to call evil. Even if you somehow eradicated everything you believe to be evil, either something else would rise to take its place, or your concept of good would change.

For example, say going out drinking on Friday night is good and working on Friday night is bad or evil. If you no longer had to work on Friday nights, then not having any way to get some alcohol might become your notion of bad. But say everything that could possibly prevent you from getting drunk was eliminated. Your ideals would then change. Your new idea of Friday night goodness might become getting loaded for free. And it follows then that your new idea of bad might be something like spending tons of cash and not even catching a buzz.

But what is this discourse on good and bad all about, you ask? Well, simply put, the leaders of this country are beginning to overstep their bounds. Worldwide, the U.S. is not a very well liked republic for many reasons. Not the least of which is our ever-spreading military deployment.

This country's leaders need to chill out as far as exercising our military superiority is concerned. Look, Japan has become our ally and one of our greatest trading partners. Is there still really a need to have U.S. troops comprise their military? What the hell are soldiers doing there? I'll tell you, their presence is doing nothing but breeding contempt for our country. Bring them home. There's nothing that says we couldn't monitor the Japanese military, we don't have to be the Japanese military. How would you feel if say, the Chinese military, forcibly proclaimed themselves our military? That probably wouldn't sit too well, would it?

At the very least, our military needs to stop acting internationally without consent from the United Nations. Do the leaders of this country understand what the United Nations is? The United Nations is supposed to be a political voice for the entire world, and when it doesn't seem like it is functioning in this way, it is due to nations like ours ignoring its principles. When this country's actions gain disapproval from the United Nations, in effect, we are acquiring disapproval from the entire planet. I don't see how that could ever be construed as a good thing.

In the end, it is the nature of human beings to always search for something they can believe in —; something they can call good. Therefore, it is also human nature to be constantly defining what is bad, and what is evil. You can't stop this kind of hate, you can only hope to contain it or redirect it. And I don't know about you, but I think it is a prime responsibility of this nation's leaders to not allow the rest of the world to hate our country, to consider us the bad guys.

I, for one, do not want to live in the next evil empire, nor would I want to fight for a country that could not validly explain to me the reasons why I must fight. Always keep in mind what I said earlier — notions of good and evil are nothing but opinions determined by perspective and position. Just because it may appear that we are on the side of good, doesn't mean its so.

Should we have cared that Nazi Germany thought we were the bad guys? Probably not. Should we care if three-fourths of the world thinks we are the bad guys because of our ignorant military interventions and overall sense of arrogance? I would hope so.