Why They Dislike America
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Why do parts of the world dislike America so much? Well, if you listen to the Neo-Cons, rightwing propagandists on Fox "News", and former President George W. Bush, "they hate us for our freedoms." This statement could be no further from the truth. They hate us because for decades we have had the hubris to impose our will on others. We as a nation decided, over 200 years ago, that democracy was the way to go for us. Then our government decided that democracy was the way to go for everyone else. And it was willing to back it up with money and guns.
In the '50s and '60s, throughout the world, we decided for others that democracy was the way to go. The people in Central and South America were told that we knew better. Anyone who disagreed was the enemy. Our government spent billions of taxpayer dollars propping up rightwing dictatorships and their death squads to ensure that "democracy" was defended. Yet free and fair elections were not held. Human rights, free speech and freedom of assembly were not recognized. Activists were arrested, silenced and executed. Protesters were gunned down in the streets. All we did was defend capitalism and the profits of American corporations doing business in the region. At times U.S. presidents had condemned the repression. But it was just lip service. The military and financial aid continued. And so did the repression.
Now for a country that talks about liberty, freedom and democracy, our government sure has supported our share of dictators over the years. In fact if you look at the history of repressive dictators over the last 60 years, our government has financially backed most of them. Why? For the same reason it has always been. Oil and profits. And the fear of losing access to both is what has driven our foreign policy. In fact, since World War II hypocrisy has been our foreign policy of choice and the world knows it.
In the Middle East they despise us because of this. Because our government has been supporting dictators in the region for the last 60 years. Our backing of the Shah of Iran led to anti-American sentiment in the region and the Ayatollah's rise to power. But we learned nothing from that. We continued supporting dictators in the region. And the beat went on. The first Gulf War was fought to protect the American aided un-democratic Kuwaiti royal family from the advances of Saddam Hussein, a dictator who our government provided military aid to so that he could fight the Ayatollah in Iran. The second Gulf War was to remove Saddam Hussein because he had lost favor with us. And now we're still in Iraq. What a tangled web we have woven.
Now we have the situation in Egypt. The Egyptian people have grown tired of yet another U.S.-backed dictator. They cry for liberty, freedom and democracy as tear gas canisters and bullets, made in America, are fired into them. And yet despite what history has shown us, some feel we need to be involved. But don't let fear mongers tell you that this is about Muslim extremists versus democracy. It's not. It's about fear of the unknown. You see some only like democracy when they know what the outcome will be. They are afraid of what a democratic election in Egypt might result in. We as Americans are allowed to vote because we only have two sides of the same coin to vote for and outcomes are predictable. In Egypt, not so much. So this call for action, mostly from the right, isn't really about democracy. It's about keeping order, even if we abandon our principles, to allow the oil and profits to flow.
So why do they hate us? Hubris and Hypocrisy.
And what should we do about Egypt? How about we mind our own business and let the people of Egypt decide for themselves.
And if the outcome of an election is not to our liking? Suck it up, adjust our policies, and celebrate democracy.
No matter how ugly the results may be.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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Why do parts of the world dislike America so much? Well, if you listen to the Neo-Cons, rightwing propagandists on Fox "News", and former President George W. Bush, "they hate us for our freedoms." This statement could be no further from the truth. They hate us because for decades we have had the hubris to impose our will on others. We as a nation decided, over 200 years ago, that democracy was the way to go for us. Then our government decided that democracy was the way to go for everyone else. And it was willing to back it up with money and guns.
In the '50s and '60s, throughout the world, we decided for others that democracy was the way to go. The people in Central and South America were told that we knew better. Anyone who disagreed was the enemy. Our government spent billions of taxpayer dollars propping up rightwing dictatorships and their death squads to ensure that "democracy" was defended. Yet free and fair elections were not held. Human rights, free speech and freedom of assembly were not recognized. Activists were arrested, silenced and executed. Protesters were gunned down in the streets. All we did was defend capitalism and the profits of American corporations doing business in the region. At times U.S. presidents had condemned the repression. But it was just lip service. The military and financial aid continued. And so did the repression.
Now for a country that talks about liberty, freedom and democracy, our government sure has supported our share of dictators over the years. In fact if you look at the history of repressive dictators over the last 60 years, our government has financially backed most of them. Why? For the same reason it has always been. Oil and profits. And the fear of losing access to both is what has driven our foreign policy. In fact, since World War II hypocrisy has been our foreign policy of choice and the world knows it.
In the Middle East they despise us because of this. Because our government has been supporting dictators in the region for the last 60 years. Our backing of the Shah of Iran led to anti-American sentiment in the region and the Ayatollah's rise to power. But we learned nothing from that. We continued supporting dictators in the region. And the beat went on. The first Gulf War was fought to protect the American aided un-democratic Kuwaiti royal family from the advances of Saddam Hussein, a dictator who our government provided military aid to so that he could fight the Ayatollah in Iran. The second Gulf War was to remove Saddam Hussein because he had lost favor with us. And now we're still in Iraq. What a tangled web we have woven.
Now we have the situation in Egypt. The Egyptian people have grown tired of yet another U.S.-backed dictator. They cry for liberty, freedom and democracy as tear gas canisters and bullets, made in America, are fired into them. And yet despite what history has shown us, some feel we need to be involved. But don't let fear mongers tell you that this is about Muslim extremists versus democracy. It's not. It's about fear of the unknown. You see some only like democracy when they know what the outcome will be. They are afraid of what a democratic election in Egypt might result in. We as Americans are allowed to vote because we only have two sides of the same coin to vote for and outcomes are predictable. In Egypt, not so much. So this call for action, mostly from the right, isn't really about democracy. It's about keeping order, even if we abandon our principles, to allow the oil and profits to flow.
So why do they hate us? Hubris and Hypocrisy.
And what should we do about Egypt? How about we mind our own business and let the people of Egypt decide for themselves.
And if the outcome of an election is not to our liking? Suck it up, adjust our policies, and celebrate democracy.
No matter how ugly the results may be.
Robert Betances
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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