Knee-jerk patriots accuse critics of US actions of having nothing to suggest by way of alternatives. Indeed pseudo-rivals like the Democrats aren’t speaking any differently than the GOP.

But the answers have been out there and they are quite simple. Noam Chomsky does not take credit for them, but summarized them recently. Here’s what he suggests our country can do to try to redeem itself with the world community:

1) accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the World Court;

2) sign and carry forward the Kyoto protocols;

3) let the UN take the lead in international crises;

4) rely on diplomatic and economic measures rather than military ones in confronting terror;

5) keep to the traditional interpretation of the UN Charter;

6) give up the Security Council veto and have “a decent respect for the opinion of mankind,” as the Declaration of Independence advises, even if power centres disagree;

7) cut back sharply on military spending and sharply increase social spending.