We the people have to make a difficult call in the coming days over what to do in Syria. Our elected representatives will be voting on whether to intervene in yet another seemingly unsolvable conflict in the Middle East. There are no clear-cut answers, and it is not an easy issue to form a plan of action. But here is one undisputed truth: America can’t hide from the world. After going through the ideological ringer, I have begrudgingly come to an opinion.

The United States must get involved and punish the regime of butcher Bashar al-Assad. Why? Because the rest of the world, with the exception of France, has decided to allow mass murder to continue right in front of its eyes. We can’t allow fear and political weakness to define our world this time.

Bashar the butcher used sarin gas to murder 1,400 of his own people in the suburbs of his national capital. Hundreds of children lay dead in the gutter, thrown away so a madman can cling to power.

It is a human outrage – a farce in an age when we can stop it.

America should not have to act alone in Syria. The international community should rise up in united force to punish the regime. But due to the weakness of China and selfishness of Russia, the United Nations Security Council is unable to act.

UN scientists were deployed to the gassing site in order to determine only whether chemical weapons were used at all – not to find out who used them. This weak mandate shows the limits of international cooperation in the face of mass murder. It is disappointing for a liberal like me, who embraces increased teamwork with the global community in these matters.

Without international backing, it is unreasonable for America to unilaterally bring regime change or impose a no-fly zone. This would probably require American air and ground forces, which would mean that lives would be lost. That is not something that can be tolerated without a shared sacrifice spread among a league of nations.

Now President Barack Obama is forced in advocating a watered-down form of retaliation, and not regime change. The plan apparently includes using cruise missiles fired from our ships in the region to make the regime think twice about using chemical weapons again. It is a far from perfect answer, and his red line comment undoubtedly forced his hand. But it is the best answer that we have. Congress must give Obama the authority to intervene. If the vote goes the way of the British Parliament, America’s standing in the world will be reduced. But the real damage will be in our own standing. How can we justify being the leaders of the free world when we turn a blind eye to massacres? How can we still argue that we are the best if we can’t even be bothered to address genocide and mass murder?

We failed in Rwanda and in Darfur. We have allowed dictators to roam the world stage for decades, from Cuba to Zimbabwe. We have another chance to live up to our own ideals. We can’t fail ourselves now.

Rich Robinson is a junior majoring in telecommunication and film. His column runs weekly.