Julie Ann V. Valdez Bpa 4-Ii Refelection Paper America's National Interests

JULIE ANN V.
VALDEZ
BPA 4-II
REFELECTION PAPER
America's National Interests
The Commission on America's National Interests was established by a group of

Americans who are convinced that, in the absence of American global leadership,
citizens will find their fortunes, their values, and indeed their lives threatened as surely
as they have ever been. We are concerned that after five decades of extraordinary
exertion, the US is in danger of losing its way. The fatigue of many, and distraction of
some with special interests, leave American foreign policy hostage to television images
and the momentary passions of domestic politics. Lacking basic coordinates and a clear
sense of priorities, American foreign policy becomes reactive and impulsive in a fast-
changing and uncertain world.
The goal of the Commission on America's National Interests is to help focus thinking on
one central issue: What are the United States' national interests? What are American
national interests today and as far forward as we can see in the future for which we
must prepare? In the short run, we hope to catalyze debate about the most important
US national interests during this season of presidential and congressional campaigns.
We also hope to contribute to a more focused debate about core national interests, the
essential foundation for the next era of American foreign policy.
The Commission wishes to thank Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs, the Nixon Center, and RAND for their institutional support of the Commission,
and the Hauser Foundation for support of this Report.
Every Business Lawyer Must Take Action To Defend Democracy And The Rule Of
Law
Democracy and the rule of law in the U.S. has been assaulted. It could not have
happened without the extensive involvement of business, witting or unwitting. Business
lawyers are industry leaders and trusted advisors, with power to influence corporations,
financing, and resources. We can take action and we must. On January 6, 2021, a mob
of thousands of enraged supporters of the current President, Donald Trump, stormed
Congress following his exhortation to stop Congress from certifying the votes of the
electoral college, premised on baseless and judicially repudiated claims that the election
was fraudulent and rigged. They overpowered a thin blue line of Capitol police, trashed
the building and offices, chased, dragged, and beat police officers, and were only
minutes away from assaulting and kidnapping members of Congress and their staff.
Five people died as a result of the mob violence. Had the mob broken through to the
Congressional chambers in time, the death toll would likely have been higher, the
violence more widespread, and the Presidential election could have been derailed. This
was a coordinated assault on democracy, and the rule of law. In response, dozens of
horrified corporations stopped contributing to members of Congress who supported
decertification of the election, banks stopped extending loans to the Trump organization,
media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook blocked Trump, industry associations
such as the National Association of Manufacturers condemned the assault and dozens
of law firms and thousands of individual lawyers publicly called for Trump’s removal.
These business and legal reactions are linked by the universally recognized corporate
responsibility to respect human rights as articulated by the 2011 UN Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights. They constitute the authoritative global standard, and
have been increasingly incorporated or reflected in hard and soft law, the practices and
policies of leading companies, and the demands of ESG investors representing trillions
of dollars of assets under management. The Guiding Principles expect that businesses
will not cause, contribute to, or be directly linked to violations of internationally
recognized human rights, and that they will use or build their leverage to influence those
entities whom they do business with not to do so. The assault on democracy and the
rule of law could not have been launched without extensive business involvement. This
involvement includes: the use of media companies as platforms to spread lies and hate
speech about the election; lobbying and political contributions to Congress persons who
denied the election’s validity and attempted to disrupt it even as the mob had broken
through the doors of Congress; bank loans to Trump and his organization (from which
he has never really separated), and the use of law firms to file dozens of baseless
lawsuits in an effort to overturn the election.

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JULIE ANN V.

America's National Interests

The Commission on America's National Interests was established by a group of

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