8/8/2019 The Arrogance of America

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THE ARROGANCE OF AMERICA WHY WE ARE SO HATED IN THE WORLD 

BY: PETER T PHELPS 2/22/2008 Sheep, that is the word I would use to describe the majority of the citizens living

within these United States. They fit into the program placed upon them by society andnever really question why this is how it must be done. Then they skate by without doingtheir civic duties and complain when unfair laws are passed. Yet, they still accept theseburdens because they believe they either do not have the power to change things orbecause that is just the way it is. 

So instead of taking on any responsibility or holding a social consciousness,they have become lazy and complacent. They are perfectly happy allowing the systemto feed them news that really does not show views outside their comfort zone. Theybelieved that the government was doing what was necessary after 9/11 to secure ourlifestyle. Atrocities and moray breaches were performed in the name of our country,and people applauded those tactics. I was ashamed to call myself an American aftersuch blatant disregard for another society's moral standards and cannot even see whatwas done at Abu Ghraib in Iraq to have been humane by our own standards.

It is this total disregard for what others think that has forced America topractically wage the war on terrorism alone. We took action in Iraq without the approvalof the United Nations and under the false pretense that there were weapons of massdestruction being produced by the Saddam regime. It was the arrogance shown by theBush administration that alienated our allies. That our government did not take any

action against the administration for blatantly lying to the American public, and world,only spread the blame for the misguided action. As not holding one accountable isparamount to aiding and abiding the perpetrator in the act itself. 

Then to add salt to the injury the Bush administration set up camp within Iraqwith the mission to stabilize the populace with the goal of setting up a newdemocracy. To the Iraqi people this was a hostile occupation force, not liberation. TheAmericans wanted to set up the same sort of democracy as they have right now in theUS. This electoral college system is probably misunderstood by nearly 90% or more ofour own people. For a new democracy one person one vote would have made muchmore sense to the populace. I've always questioned how the people in charge of these

type of things cannot recognize how each society, economy and culture must move insimilar cycles of development. To expect a people to jump from step one to step tenwithout the development necessary by the middle steps is ludicrous. Why do you thinkso many science fiction authors caution "advancing" a civilization before they are ready? 

Americans and Western European countries are the most guilty of the drive tochange all other people to be just like them. The crusades performed by the Catholicchurch were just one of the first examples of trying to force a belief upon people in otherregions of the world. The colonial era was perhaps the worst example of how they

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decided to change the world in their own image. It would not be hard to draw parallelsto those periods and what America has done in Iraq. We had no true provocation tomove upon the regime as all we went by was faulty, perhaps fabricated, intelligencereports. We attacked and killed their soldiers. We crippled their electrical, water andother utilities. We created an occupation force that is still rather strong there today and

puts some of our brightest and best in one of the most dangerous situationsaround. Then we set up local judges to try Saddam and even then the proceedingswere tightly controlled. The outcome of the trial was not at all unexpected. Later webegan to train locals to be a police force and sometimes ended up training the enemyinsurgents as to our techniques. Held elections and set up a democracy for the littlegood that did. The problem lies in the fact that you cannot force a democracy upon apeople. A democracy must be built by the majority of people believing that it is the bestcourse of governance for their country and people. They must believe so much thatthey are willing to put down their own lives to ensure that it comes to fruition. The factthat the Iraqi people are separated into three racial groups has made the task ofbringing stability to the area almost impossible since they hate each other to the point of

a three way civil war. It was the regime's cruelty that kept them in place and Americacannot realize how weak it must look in the eyes of the Iraqi people because of thethings we are unable to do. These were a people that respect fear, lived under it forgenerations and can be some of the most stubborn opponents around. (Ever watchsomeone from that region play basketball? They can literally argue about a bad play forhours before resuming the game. Just think this over, they hold grudges and slights toa much higher standard.) I actually have no solution for our situation in Iraq becausewe have already made so many mistakes that we may have proven that the infidels trulyare the "devil" that cannot be trusted. With the three factions fighting there probably willnot be peace unless you can split the country into segments for each and get them toagree to stop their inner battles. Even then it will feel like the oppressive invader stuckhis nose into their affairs and forced them into a compromise that probably will not lastonce we've withdrawn our forces from the region. Sometimes it does not matter howmuch might we have to bear on a problem, it will never be right.  

The problem is how we as Americans approach creating change in the world. Itis our "you must do it this way" attitude that has caused us so much trouble in the world.Martin Luther King Jr. is perhaps one of the greatest men in history because headvocated social change through nonviolent protest. If we could follow his lead andrealize that being a bully in the international community has only earned us theanimosity of those we've claimed to have helped. In the process of our showing ourweight in the world we have turned our allies into countries willing to sit on the sidelinesto watch how this mess plays out. But, to suggest that there might be a kinder, more

respectful approach is to stir up the ire of those that believe America has to display theirmilitary muscle and show that we are strong or we will begin to be attacked moreoften. This philosophy is comparable to the one the NRA likes to preach: that you mustdefend the right to own ridiculous weapons because there is going to be some criminalout there that has something better to kill you with. They are both born of paranoia andfear, which are states no one should have to constantly live under. I am not saying weshould not be ready to defend one's home or country because that would be naive. I

 just think that if I cannot hit the bad guy in five shots then it is my own damn fault.

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Forcing something upon another person, no matter where, usually causesfeelings of resentment. This is almost universal throughout all cultures. Just think of achild that says, "I don't want to," in response to what a parent has requested. Theparent could then spank the child to attempt to get the requested action. But, then thereis the possibility the child will throw a temper tantrum which will usually cause a great

deal of time and energy to be wasted because the situation can escalate to greateranger on both sides, leading to more punishment and most likely to the original issuebeing unresolved. Now if that same parent were to take a calmer approach and attemptto explain to the child why it was an action the child needed to perform or perhapssuggested some positive reinforcement (reward) for the action, the outcome might beresolved with much less time and energy wasted. It would also leave all parties muchmore pleased with each other.

Americans also do not comprehend how unpleased people we give aid toare. To survive those people have to swallow what pride they possess and take ourhandouts. The American people feel great pride in how they have given to starvingpeople around the world. They do not understand that they have only provided atemporary comfort and sustained a life a bit longer in some of the cruelestconditions. The problem here lies twofold: we are not helping the people become selfsufficient enough to grow their own crops, and we have not done anything to instill asense of pride for the people to try to better their own condition rather than rely entirelyupon the aid. When we do attempt to help we usually are doing so with the requirementthat the people recant their sins and become good little church members, forcing ourbelief structure on them. If they do not like that it means their God is inferior because itallows them to suffer and starve. Death or accept a foreign culture are the choicebefore these people and they may choose life while continuing to harbor animositybecause they resent the choice they were forced into. Depending on the character ofthe people this resentment might wane through succeeding generations, but there are

some strong willed peoples that will continue to pass on their heritage secretly within thecongregations. 

A populace that would have every right to resent Americans would be theCubans. The embargo that keeps trade from occurring freely with that country isperhaps the worst policy I have ever heard of. There is no doubting that Cuba is aCommunist country. Is that reason enough to cut off their ability to trade freely withother countries? We really are again demonstrating our collective stupidity and lack ofcompassion in regards to this little island country. Look at almost all other Communistcountries and you will see that they have benefited from free trade and access tomedical advancements. Some have even made the switch to Socialist or Democratic

governments. Instead of cutting Cuba off we need to open our repressive tactics andattempt to be their friends. Cuban cigars are world renowned in quality, so much so thateven though they are illegal in the United States, people pay a high premium to getthem smuggled in. I believe they also produce fairly good crystal products. The point isthat for change to take place you have to show people that you are not the bad guy andyour system is better. You cannot do that when you are the ones causing a great dealof suffering and problems for that country. When you do this the people will cling to thesystem they know because it was the external system that was causing their oppression.  

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Instead of a system of forcing a change or ideal upon the people of othercountries we need to be more willing to assist a people to move in a direction, even if itsometimes is not exactly the way we want them to go. This requires a great deal ofrespect, trust and love. When the Bible said, "Love thy neighbor," it did not just meanthe person living next door. "Treat others as you would treat yourself." Would you bully

yourself, do you like it when others bully you? I highly doubt it. Because my name isPeter I tend to find rock metaphors are appropriate. Instead of being the rock that rollsover those that stand in the way (the bully), be the rock that others can come readshould they choose to find guidance and wisdom. Let them sit upon you when they areweary or take refuge from the sun in your shade. Let them engrave upon you thosewords that can pass on to others their experiences so that all may grow who partake ofyour company. Above all stand as an eternal symbol of love rather than that of brutality.  NOTE: In no way am I trying to blame our soldiers for what they are doing in the other

countries. They are there doing the job, like it or not. They sacrifice so much sometimesunder the most underappreciated and under equipped circumstances. I just wish we

could bring them all home safely to their families and loved ones.