President Barack Obama must accept foreign responsibilities.

For the past year, a wave of reform and revival has energized the oppressed civilians of some of the world’s most ironfisted nations.

This revolutionary charge, commonly known as the Arab Spring, sparked large-scale protests that significantly dismantled or toppled governments in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya.

With a relentless intolerance for the status quo and a yearning to claim inherent human rights, these protesters shook the foundation of their government and captured the spotlight of the world stage.

The protesters eradicated the notion that the days of legitimate, organized protest activism were a thing of the past.

The thousands of martyrs, sad byproducts of malicious regime control tactics, all gave their lives for a right so basic and intrinsic to the makeup of our idea of America – the right to be free.

It would seem that support of an oppressed populace who repeatedly petitions their government for a redress of grievances would be at the forefront of our nation’s foreign policy agenda.

However, Obama continues to ignore gross human rights violations at the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The uprisings in Syria have been different than other nations affected by the Arab Spring. The Assad regime continues to slaughter hundreds of opposition protesters on a daily basis.

Because the Syrian government forbids outside journalists, the flow of information outside of the country rests solely in the hands of brave amateur journalists who film or document the atrocities, which are then picked up by international media organizations.

Men, women and children of all ages have been slain in the middle of the streets as the regime attempts to crack down on the anti-Assad message.

The Arab League has failed in its attempt to curb the violence by sending human rights monitors into the country.

Throughout their visit, amateur video shows the monitors walking through seemingly quiet villages with the roar of gunfire in the background – apparently another military crackdown.

The monitors left the country with no real information, no sense of what was going on and no plan of action to end the massacre.

The international community awaits Assad’s compliance with his promise to withdraw military forces from cities, release political opposition prisoners and allow the Syrians to hold anti-government demonstrations.

The promises, however, should fall on deaf ears. Assad’s stalling tactics are only allowing the murders to continue and allow him more time to get a control on his political opposition.

In the midst of all the turmoil, the United States – the leaders of the free world – continues to sit idly by the wayside, all for the sake of political advantage.

Obama’s premature troop withdrawal from Iraq, drastic budget cuts to the Department of Defense and insanely irresponsible idea of a limit on the number of wars the country can be involved in all speak to his instability and inability to promote American interests to the world.

The notion that the U.S. should play a limited role on the world stage is reprehensible and inherently un-American.

Whether critics choose to accept it or not, the U.S. facilitates the important role of policing the world – especially in the case of a hostile government that unashamedly and blatantly continues to violate international law.

The Obama administration has repeatedly called for Assad to step down as president of Syria, but the calls have no real power or authority. NATO should begin action to force Assad out of power by any means necessary.

The United States must lead the international efforts to stop the slaughter of innocent Syrians who simply desire to have a voice. We must respond to the calls for immediate aid and action.

Our nation was founded on the concept that a free society empowers citizens and creates incredible potential. The Obama administration should stay true to our core values and place the pursuit of basic human rights over political agendas.

Austin Gaddis is a junior majoring in communication studies and public relations. His column runs weekly on Thursdays.