Dear Mr. President,

Nobody likes the bully. They push people around, pick on the inferior and make fun of the less fortunate. But, that is what the United States is.

It is a simple concept to understand. If you steal something from someone, they will want to retaliate and seek revenge on you. That’s what is happening with our current foreign policy. We, the United States of America, barge into other countries, set up camp and don’t leave until we get what we want. According to a document released by the pentagon, the United States has active US military personnel in 148 countries. We kill people’s family members and then get angry when they choose to try and even the score. “They started it!” we say to justify our next move. But in reality, it was us who made the first move. Terrorists don’t just appear and choose to attack the United State. We provoke people to become terrorists.

There is a time and a place for everything. There is a time to go to war and there is a time to make peace. And right now is not the time to mingle in other country’s business and start wars. The United States has enough problems internally. We shouldn’t be dealing with problems externally. Our national debt is increasing astronomically, about $48,000 according to nationalreview.com, with every second that ticks by. There are millions of jobless people scavenging and scraping for every dime they have. With the increase of energy use, a clean energy source is vital to keep our environment healthy and inhabitable. The United States should be doing other things with our money rather than flexing our muscles in foreign countries.

But what can we do with our troops? They spend countless hours preparing to defend our country. We can’t just leave them out to dry. There is one thing we can do to improve the standing of the United States in other countries and improve the world as a whole: We can help.

Instead of sending planes full of artillery, we can send the same planes full with food, medicine and other basics. Our troops can deliver essentials to help people in Africa, India and the Middle East. According to CIA.gov, over 1 trillion people are illiterate throughout the world. The troops can teach them how to read and even the basics of math. It is possible for the United States to be a humanitarian superpower.

The future is in our hands, Mr. President. We can decide to tear the world apart or to build it back up. It is time to change the way we think and act, and restore peace to the world. The world needs us to set the example and stop being the bully.