MIDDLETOWN - I was listening to a radio show the other day while driving in the car and heard an interesting quote from a lieutenant named Ralph Peters that resonated with me. The quote went something along the lines of, �"When America is strong the world complains. When America is weak the world suffers.”

       I was not sure if that quote is actually his own or if he borrowed it from elsewhere, it but it really struck me how important the United States is and has been to the stability of the world. Yes, I know the naysayers within our borders continue to think that America is the root of all evil and that less American involvement will make the world a much more peaceful and safer place. Yawn! Those beliefs often make me chuckle because nothing could be further from the truth. Without our leadership, whether it is technologically, financially, or militarily, the world would be a much darker place than it is today.

       President Obama is one who comes from a background that distrusts America and believes America is the problem and not the solution. But I guess that is to be expected from one with a Cambridge education these days.

       Over the past six years, President Obama has worked tirelessly to defund the U.S. military while reducing American hegemony and political influence throughout the Middle East and the world in general. Military budget cuts, forced troop retirements and a failing VA system have virtually diminished a military that was once unrivaled on the planet to a shadow of its former self.

       Additionally, American foreign policy, which was once held in such high esteem and feared and respected by our enemies, now has been marginalized, which has emboldened non friendly governments and terrorist organizations around the globe to freely brutalize innocents and minority groups with little more than a mild protest from our Commander in Chief. Can we regain that influence we once had and protect the goodness in humanity? I hope so, but I fear it cannot happen without serious change in leadership from the executive branch in Washington, D.C.

       So who are the bad actors causing chaos and instability? Well first off, Russian influence, which had been listless on the world stage for many years, has all of a sudden presented itself as a clear and present threat to the sovereignty of the Ukraine and Western Europe. The Ukraine had become a friend of the U.S. and the western world in recent years. There was even talk about the Ukraine joining NATO, which did not make Vladimir Putin and Russia happy whatsoever.

       Like most stories, the shelf life is running out quickly as it has fallen out of the headlines in recent days and weeks, but this crisis is still a major threat to world order. No one is suggesting going to war with Russia by any stretch, but President Obama’s weakness on this matter has emboldened Putin to stack his border with 20,000 troops ready to invade Crimea at a moment’s notice. The sad and tragic shoot down of a commercial jetliner by Russian-supplied separatists served only to show to the world that Obama is not feared by Russia, as any action he has taken has only been reactive instead of proactive.

       Russia is not the only political adversary emboldened by the current administration’s cowardice and lack of urgency on world affairs. Even countries like Syria and the dictatorial Bashar Assad regime have thumbed their noses and disrespected humanity by using chemical weapons against their own people and â€�"rebels” in what has been a brutal Civil War, which has cost almost 200,000 deaths--many of them civilian. His famous â€�"line in the sand” comments just ended up sounding hollow with no real purpose.

       Of course, now the United States is facing a new terrorist threat coming out of Syria, which has spilled over into Iraq from an organization that calls itself ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). This group that is predominantly made up of religious extremists has caused mayhem throughout parts of Syria and Iraq, killing innocent civilians, fellow Muslims and Christians along the way. It is such a tragic and heartbreaking story that President Obama allegedly knew about and could have stopped before they gained momentum, yet sadly his inaction only served to strengthen their forward progress. Only recently has the U.S. military been called in to engage them militarily from the air.

       I know, I know--America is flawed and has made mistakes over time, but when one objectively looks at our country in its totality, the good the U.S. has bestowed around the world outweighs the bad in multiples too large to quantify. The United States has always taken a leadership role in helping the poor and sick around the world, offering aid and medical help to countries and communities not just within our own borders. When natural disasters strike, our planes and helicopters are generally first responders to aid in search and rescue and also care for and treat those injured.

       Historically, a strong U.S. military has served as a deterrent to aggression towards our friends and allies, which has kept the world relatively peaceful, allowing free commerce and trade to thrive and keep the global economy alive, which in turn has helped pull millions of people out of poverty across the planet.

       The same old tired arguments I heard and read about in college that America is at fault for all the problems in the world are comical and just another example of a self-loathing that emanates out of left-leaning academia for whatever reason. President Obama hails from that philosophical viewpoint and his politics show it. I guess some folks always need something to complain about for whatever reason.

       I think most Americans understand the greatness of the United States and that the technological innovation and creativity that comes out of this diverse country has helped make it the greatest nation on earth. It is a nation that has always cared for and protected the weak and downtrodden around the globe. I cannot imagine this world without the United States and I wish President Obama understood what a great country he lives in.