The role of foreign policy in the United States is a widely disputed area of politics. There are two distinct schools of thought that I believe, upon combining, will lead to a better approach to foreign policy. The first school of thought is hegemonic realism, and the second is prudent realism. Through these two approaches, America will be able to do a better job in helping other nations while achieving our national interests. The advantage of combining these two schools is in a sense, combining the best of both worlds. It is not my belief that this approach is the best. However, I firmly believe that this is the best of our current options.
             When considering foreign policy we, (The US) must take into account and constantly remind ourselves that the US makes up a small population of the world. The importance of this reminder is quite obvious. We can not without justification put national interests ahead of our humanity. We have learned from mistakes in the past that harsh reparations drive a country to instability, resulting in the rise of dangerous leaders. For instance, Adolf Hitler rose to power because of the harsh reparations after WW I. The
             ideals behind prudent realism stem from the results of WW I. My approach to prudent realism is to synthesize only a couple of points from that school of thought and apply them to hegemonic realism. One aspect of prudent realism that is beneficial is the analysis of the importance of different global affairs. Prudent realism breaks the severity of threats down into three different categories. The exact details of the categories are irrelevant. The important part about this is the notion that we can apply our resources to the most needed areas of the world, while still protecting our national interests.
             Humanitarian disasters will be more successfully diminished when all life comes into the national interests of the United States. Currently, however, the "prudent" things consist of oil ...