Topic: Foreign Policy
Why Does the Whole World Hate the United States? Last month, while discussing the turmoil in Serbia and the assault on the U.S. Embassy, with my class, one of my eighth graders, a Dutch student, asked, “why does the whole world hate the United States?” I thought for a minute and then realized that the whole world does not hate the United States, quite the contrary, they simply hate our government. I must say it is with good reason.by Kenn Jacobine
(Libertarian)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Last month, while discussing the turmoil in Serbia and the assault on the U.S. Embassy, with my class, one of my eighth graders, a Dutch student, asked, "why does the whole world hate the United States?" I thought for a minute and then realized that the whole world does not hate the United States, quite the contrary, they simply hate our government. I must say it is with good reason.
I have lived abroad for the last seven years in three different countries (Ecuador, Mali, and Zambia) and have rarely experienced anti-American sentiment. When 911 happened, the American community in Ecuador was supported and comforted by the Ecuadorian people. My family personally received emails and letters of condolences from them. In all three countries, American ideals – equal opportunity and freedom, as well as our way of life are greatly admired. There are always lines at our Embassy of people applying for visas to visit, work, or study in the U.S. These are hardly the actions of people who hate the U.S.
However, while aspiring to live in the U.S. and appreciating our way of life, many do hate our government for how it acts around the world.
Iraq – The U.S. government bombed Iraq through the 1990's to allegedly aid the Kurds even though when the Kurds expected our help to overthrow Saddam at the end of the first Gulf war they were left high and dry by the U.S. government. Then the U.S. invaded Iraq under the pretext of carefully orchestrated lies about Saddam's links to al-Qaida and weapons of mass destruction (see Center for Public Integrity website). With no end to the undeclared war in sight, John McCain has indicated that U.S. forces will be in Iraq for another one hundred years. The terrorists are licking their chops.
Japan – Recently, two U.S. marines have been accused of raping Japanese children. This caused a public outcry in Japan certainly against those marines but also for the U.S. to remove its military bases from Japanese soil. The war has been over for almost sixty-three years and we still occupy Japanese soil. Why?
Cuba – We have economically embargoed that country for forty-six years. Bad health is what eventually made Castro step down. With new leadership in place in Cuba, this would be the perfect time to end the embargo and attempt to bring real change through free market economics to Cuba. Our "leaders" seem none too keen for that.
Kosovo – The Serbs hate our government's actions there just like we would hate theirs' if the Serbian government encouraged Florida to secede from the U.S.
Canada – Our friends to the north have even been peeved at us for our government's self-righteous attitude toward their medical marijuana law.
Now, I know I run the risk of being called unpatriotic and some would even say I should just stay abroad if I hate my country so much. Grow up. To criticize one's own government is a natural right and a responsibility of citizenship. Our government has not only wronged many in the world, it has wronged its own people.
It takes money from hard-working Americans and gives it to institutions like the United Nations and World Bank, who then give it to third world dictators and bureaucrats who put it in their personal bank accounts. These countries then go into default on their loans and the American taxpayer is called to bail them out again.
Our government allows the Federal Reserve Bank to print money out of thin air. Then it distributes it first to its banking and corporate buddies. The bankers and corporate types enjoy pre-inflated money while the American worker eventually experiences higher prices and is left holding the debt of the newly printed money from the Fed.
Uncle Sam has continually eroded the rights of the very citizens it exists to protect. The so-called Patriot Act has expanded the federal government's ability to use wiretaps without judicial oversight; has made it far easier for the government to monitor private internet usage; has authorized "sneak and peek" warrants enabling federal authorities to search a person's home, office, or personal property without that person's knowledge; and has required libraries and bookstores to turn over records of books read by their patrons.
There are other examples of our government's cruel and unusual punishment that could be stated - the Drug War and eminent domain to name just two. I had high hopes (no pun intended) that this election cycle would be different. That as a country we would demand more from our leaders. Barack, Hillary, or John are not going to deliver. In the larger scheme of things, it does not really matter if the world or individual Americans hate our government. What matters is that Americans understand the reasons why Uncle Sam is hated and stop playing the patriotism card. The U.S. government is doing a lot of things wrong and it is up to the American people to put a stop to it. Hopefully, eventually, this will happen through the ballot box not the battle field.
Kenn Jacobine teaches History and English for the American International School of Lusaka, Zambia
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2008 Kenn Jacobine, all rights reserved.
Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Last modified: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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Your article reminds me of the book, "Why Do People Hate America?" There's a paragraph in it that seems to fit what you're talking about, but I have a thought on it I'd appreciate your opinion on.
Here's the paragraph, "Consider the way in which all Arabs are seen as "fundamentalists," all those who question the control of science by American corporations as anti-science, or those who question American foreign policy as "morally bankrupt," "nihilists" or "idiots."
My question has to do with those who would call us "idiots" when we try to tell neocons our version of the Truth. I call them ignorant, meaning they don't know what they don't know. They are just blinded in what has been told them that they don't question it, and especially don't research it themselves...and this leads during a back and forth discussion to them attacking me (or in many cases Ron Paul's supporters in general) by utilizing slander. It is at this point where I know I have won the debate. Many times I wouldn't even get an answer when I posed questions to seek their version of the Truth.
So in saying this, "some" Americans deserve to be hated by the world because they vote in the garbage that continues to take our nation towards bankruptcy. So, yes, they hate our government, but by default, it is the people who are to blame as well is it not? I would throw the 95% of the people who voted for anyone other than Ron Paul into this category (but as a Christian, I love them all :))
The book concludes; "America has much to do to make its own democracy work, to make peace with itself, to mature its own self-identity, as it has to do in coming to terms with the rest of the world.... The Key to a viable and sane future for us all lies in transcending hatred. Since America is both the object and the source of global hatred, it must carry the responsibility of moving us all beyond it. America needs to unwrap itself from the flag and envelop itself in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
O Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love, with all my soul."
The other bill to watch out for Kenn, as I'm sure you know, is H.R. 1955 which passed the House (now S.1959): [link edited for length]
To speak out as you did in your article might be a future act of terrorism!
Well thought out and reasoned article. We could do a lot of good for the name of America just by moving all of our troops out of countries that can afford to pay for their own defense and leaving them in peace. If we really want the rest of the world to be like America then the best way to do it is to go back to the principals that founded this country and teach the other countries that lesson by example.
In the United States, the people are the government. Elected officials derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. So when somebody or group attacks the U.S. because of something the U.S. government has done, it is an attack on the people who gave the government the ability through the ballot box to do what upset the attackers in the first place. The real challenge for most Americans is to carefully analyze why other people in the world might be mad at us. Perhaps we were wrong and should change our behavior or we were not wrong and should go after the perpetrators. In any event, people do not hate the U.S. government because we are free but because our government does bad things sometimes. Then, as a people, we must consider how we would expect to be treated and do the same unto others. Until then, we will always live in the fear that the next terrorist attack is right around the corner. And of course that is what our elected officials want so they can continue to rule over us.
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2008 Kenn Jacobine, all rights reserved.