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- Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.
John Quincy Adams, July 4, 1821
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I think that is the point Adams was making. IMO the "in search of monsters" part makes the statement even more prescient. When our military actions abroad have been to support strong and popular efforts in the face of oppression (WWI, WWII, Kuwait), things have worked out fairly well for us. However, when our foreign policy objectives fill in for the lack of robust local sentiment (Vietnam, Iraq), then they do not.
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user-inactivated · 4009 days ago · link ·
I read it as a warning, or an admonition. Though he said this well after the "first" of the monsters had been dealt with, and successfully.