The Great American Empire
Wish I had more time to write....
If children are reading history books 200 years from now, they will be reading about the great American empire. Wonder if they will be a part of it?
Best thing Osama Bin Laden ever did for Pan-Americanism was to attack American Soil and declare himself our enemy. Second best thing he did was not to get caught. Gave us a carte blanche to run like Mongols all over the Middle East. Gave us an elusive and ever shifting enemy that will guarantee us public support for an ever-growing military industrial complex and a Republican presidency till at least the end of the decade. Way to go. Allah Akbar.
The truth is George Bush lied to the American people about why we went into Iraq. Months before the war, he and his advisors decided that the next step for global dominance was to get a firmer foothold in the Middle East. Afghanistan was too far east. We needed a country in the Middle of the Oil Fields to control. From the moment they agreed on Iraq to the first shots being fired, it was all a PR campaign. Weapons of Mass Destruction became the mantra because it was what most of America would rally behind. I should know, I defended the Bush position till I was blue in the face in conversations with my more dovish friends. But the truth is, it had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. It had to do with extending American influence in the region and making sure we had control of the oil, not France or Russia. For crying out loud, read "The National Security Strategy for the United States" if you don't believe me. We will brook no challengers, no pretenders to our world throne. And we will beat down any who try.
Are the Iraqis better off now that American troops patrol their neighborhoods? Was Saddam Hussein an evil dictator who ruled his country with an Iron Fist and deserves a special spider hole in the deepest regions of hell? Are our troops for the most part noble men and women who defend the cause of freedom and stand for truth and democracy? Now that we are in Iraq, should we stay and build up a nation with a representative government no matter how long it takes or how much it costs? The answer to all these questions is a resounding YES.
But have we sold our moral high ground now for political expediency? Have we lost the initiative by taking it outright? I could care less what the rest of the world thinks of us and whether they support us and our aims. To hell with those morally bankrupt nations of Europe and Asia (not all countries on these continents are like this, see next paragraph) who have nothing but a cesspool and a morass to place their soapbox on. There is no World Body that is working together and to whom we should be responsible like so many Democratic Presidential Candidates claim in their platforms. The UN is a joke, and they are about as united and polylateral as a beehive. Like it or not, we are the queen bee in this world, and when we are not there, the rest of the nations simply go around stinging each other till they are dead.
That is not to say America is the only country who loves and defends peace. That is not to say we have an unassailable culture of peace and light. There are wonderful people throughout the world. There are peaceloving nations that have done enormous good (including in Europe and Asia) and continue to do so in their sphere's of influence. But America has by far the greatest chance and therefore the greatest responsibility to do the greatest amount of good in this world, a responsibility which we shirk if we seek pure aggrandizement.
What is important is that we do what is right according to the universal ideals we espoused at our founding and continue to espouse, if only in writing. Building an empire at the expense of other nations' political autonomy is wrong. It sets the precedent that we can do what we want how we want and need a paper-thin excuse to do so. And it gives a President who has already shown he is willing to lie to the American people a green light to increase his power till he sits on a heap of skulls higher than any Atilla the Hun ever piled.
Even now throughout the United States, the FBI, NSA, CIA and local law enforcement are pooling their resources like never before (in ways that have never been LEGAL before) to spy on and gather information on Americans on American Soil. The "Patriot Act" paved the way for this. Fear cleared the path. And now that we have chased the devil to the ends of the earth and knocked down every law that has stood in our path, will we have the strength to stand in the winds that blow? (quote paraphrased from A Man For All Seasons)
I love America. I love what she stands for. I will fight for her to the very last drop of my blood. But I don't know if I am ready to watch as my country takes on the mantle of ultimate world dominance while imperfect men and women are still at the helm. God help us.
If children are reading history books 200 years from now, they will be reading about the great American empire. Wonder if they will be a part of it?
Best thing Osama Bin Laden ever did for Pan-Americanism was to attack American Soil and declare himself our enemy. Second best thing he did was not to get caught. Gave us a carte blanche to run like Mongols all over the Middle East. Gave us an elusive and ever shifting enemy that will guarantee us public support for an ever-growing military industrial complex and a Republican presidency till at least the end of the decade. Way to go. Allah Akbar.
The truth is George Bush lied to the American people about why we went into Iraq. Months before the war, he and his advisors decided that the next step for global dominance was to get a firmer foothold in the Middle East. Afghanistan was too far east. We needed a country in the Middle of the Oil Fields to control. From the moment they agreed on Iraq to the first shots being fired, it was all a PR campaign. Weapons of Mass Destruction became the mantra because it was what most of America would rally behind. I should know, I defended the Bush position till I was blue in the face in conversations with my more dovish friends. But the truth is, it had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. It had to do with extending American influence in the region and making sure we had control of the oil, not France or Russia. For crying out loud, read "The National Security Strategy for the United States" if you don't believe me. We will brook no challengers, no pretenders to our world throne. And we will beat down any who try.
Are the Iraqis better off now that American troops patrol their neighborhoods? Was Saddam Hussein an evil dictator who ruled his country with an Iron Fist and deserves a special spider hole in the deepest regions of hell? Are our troops for the most part noble men and women who defend the cause of freedom and stand for truth and democracy? Now that we are in Iraq, should we stay and build up a nation with a representative government no matter how long it takes or how much it costs? The answer to all these questions is a resounding YES.
But have we sold our moral high ground now for political expediency? Have we lost the initiative by taking it outright? I could care less what the rest of the world thinks of us and whether they support us and our aims. To hell with those morally bankrupt nations of Europe and Asia (not all countries on these continents are like this, see next paragraph) who have nothing but a cesspool and a morass to place their soapbox on. There is no World Body that is working together and to whom we should be responsible like so many Democratic Presidential Candidates claim in their platforms. The UN is a joke, and they are about as united and polylateral as a beehive. Like it or not, we are the queen bee in this world, and when we are not there, the rest of the nations simply go around stinging each other till they are dead.
That is not to say America is the only country who loves and defends peace. That is not to say we have an unassailable culture of peace and light. There are wonderful people throughout the world. There are peaceloving nations that have done enormous good (including in Europe and Asia) and continue to do so in their sphere's of influence. But America has by far the greatest chance and therefore the greatest responsibility to do the greatest amount of good in this world, a responsibility which we shirk if we seek pure aggrandizement.
What is important is that we do what is right according to the universal ideals we espoused at our founding and continue to espouse, if only in writing. Building an empire at the expense of other nations' political autonomy is wrong. It sets the precedent that we can do what we want how we want and need a paper-thin excuse to do so. And it gives a President who has already shown he is willing to lie to the American people a green light to increase his power till he sits on a heap of skulls higher than any Atilla the Hun ever piled.
Even now throughout the United States, the FBI, NSA, CIA and local law enforcement are pooling their resources like never before (in ways that have never been LEGAL before) to spy on and gather information on Americans on American Soil. The "Patriot Act" paved the way for this. Fear cleared the path. And now that we have chased the devil to the ends of the earth and knocked down every law that has stood in our path, will we have the strength to stand in the winds that blow? (quote paraphrased from A Man For All Seasons)
I love America. I love what she stands for. I will fight for her to the very last drop of my blood. But I don't know if I am ready to watch as my country takes on the mantle of ultimate world dominance while imperfect men and women are still at the helm. God help us.
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