Supporting our allies is putting America first | Opinion [Video]

By Mark Singel

As the reality of war loomed in Germany, Italy, and Japan, a group of American leaders turned a blind eye to world events. On September 4, 1940, the America First Committee was formed. The organization, led by some notable citizens like a young Gerald Ford and the future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, held rallies and blanketed the media to urge Americans to “stay out of it.” Within a year, the committee signed up about 800,000 members in over 400 chapters throughout the country.

President Franklin Roosevelt had this to say about the movement: “We well know that we cannot escape danger, or the fear of danger, by crawling into bed and pulling the covers over our heads.”

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, it ended the debate about our entering the second world war. Congress declared war on Japan the next day and, to show …