For The Good Of The World

   By the time of the Spanish-American war in 1898, the Federal Government had carved out for itself the role of governing nationally mainly by interfering occasionally in the operations of American state governments. But by then, using its exclusive powers over diplomacy and war, it had already interfered in the affairs of foreign states 103 times and used military force against Argentina, Nicaragua, Japan, Uruguay, Angola, China and Hawaii. The war with Spain made Washington seem like no more than a new junior member of the imperialist gang when it gained from Spain control of Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. But it released the three from its control as quickly as possible and contented itself with being free to interfere with them internally either with aggressive diplomacy or military action. The world began to understand at the beginning of the 20th century that Washington at the head of a union of states about to reach 48 had enormous power. However the power was feared by states worldwide. Everyone believed that the interference of Washington in the internal affairs of foreign states could only be bad. Its interference in the affairs of its own states had rarely been bad and usually had been very good. But In a time of rough and ready worldwide imperialism no state did anything good for a weaker state. Anyone in international diplomatic circles at that time would have been openly laughed at who suggested that Washington’s power might one day be used for the good of the world. Until President Wilson began the military training of more than 4 million Americans to stop European nation-states from slaughtering their young men in the First World War. Until he said in a speech in Baltimore on April 6 1918, “Force, Force to the utmost, Force without stint or limit, the righteous and triumphant Force which shall make Right the law of the world and cast every selfish dominion down in the dust”. Until he proposed at the peace conference in Versailles, France in 1919 his Fourteen Points and the creation of a League of Nations, a united states of the world. No one laughed at President Woodrow Wilson when he used American power for the good of the world.

Daniel McNeill’s play,The Body Is A Legal Drug, will have 7 performances during the Midtown International Theater Festival in New York in July and August at the Davenport Theatre 354 West 45th Street. 212-956-0948.

tickets $20.00 : https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/27845

Loving the one your’re with can come back to haunt you. A new comedy about

finding your true identity.

Performances: July 18 2:30 pm. July 20 6:30 pm. July 24 6:30 pm. July 26 7:00 pm. July 28 8:30 pm. July 31 8:00 pm. August 2 3:30 pm.