A Primer for the Ugly American
I guess I've grown up to become one of those: an Ugly American.
I never aspired to be this. I've been ingrained to be culturally sensitive as long as I can remember. I have tolerated every quack & two-bit spiritual believer, with only a modicum of sarcasm, but would never harm someone for beliefs I sometimes find silly.
I have done social work, advocated relief measures for the homeless, taken part in peace and anti-nuclear rallies that were occasionally unpopular - but directed at politicians, not at military service personnel, volunteered to do charitable work, worked as a pollworker, and have helped neighbors in all 5 states I've lived in.
I've helped raise my three children, aided folks in their declining years, and rarely violate the law... I've had just 2 speeding tickets in the past decade.
I write letters to the editor and to political representatives, in favor of policies I consider humane and just, or against bad policies. Since I went online a few years back, I've written to new acquaintances around the globe and have welcomed more than a few folks to my door that the internet made possible.
Oh, I winced at times when I felt my President or Congress made choices that proved to be stupid or hurtful. More than once, I've even cried at some grievous error that cost lives.
And all this time, I naively believed I was trying to be morally right and just and fair and kind and not only a good citizen of this country, but a good member of the world. It now seems I was wrong.
I was aware that murdering thugs did not have respect for life. This was true of serial killers as well as terrorists. But now, in a steady drumbeat of reports from around the globe, I hear the same message over and over and over again.
"The bombings occurred because America...."
"We're sad about the bombings, but we understand because Americans..."
"Maybe now Americans will understand..."
"Once Americans achieve their goals, they abandon..."
"Americans are greedy and arrogant..."
"I hate Americans because..."
Now, despite my own misgivings about the misdeeds and judgment errors of my leaders, I am also well aware that the odds are great that without America, much of the globe would be under the rule of Nazis. Or Stalinists.
Without America, the move towards democratic freedoms would likely be curtailed. Millions of immigrants from repressive countries would have no better alternative to flee to, or to come to in pursuit of education and opportunity.
Without America, whose oil interests are decried by folks in the Middle East, the economies there would be poorer still. Without America, Europe would not have been rebuilt after WWII. And without America, there would be no Peace Corps, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, and a host of other agencies that provide economic development or disaster relief across the globe... even to enemies.
Trains, planes, baseball, basketball, electricity in homes, television, telephones, computers, the list goes on and on of the things Americans have created that much of the world shares. And yes, I'm well aware that many Third World nations even now don't have much access to many of these options, but in the hearts of most Americans is the belief that we're working on it, so that someday, all nations will have the choices we have.
And in the meantime, who provides most of the humanitarian assistance to the world? Whose food feeds more of the Earth's peoples? Who provided the most humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the past decade? I know the answer, but it seems much of the world does not.
I hear the cries from the Middle East. "What about the ruthless Israelis?" they ask. Do they forget that Arab countries have launched four regular wars against Israel, and Israel has not tried to take over any Arab nation, even though it has taken land as a measure of self defense after being attacked?
"What about Palestine?" they ask. I'd point out that it was not long ago that Jordan wanted the land where the Palestinian people now reside. And that the Palestinians they call 'brothers' have not always been treated so well by their brothers, until recent years.
It sometimes appears to me that some powerful Arabs use the Palestinian people as pawns, to fight in their place. This, I know, is not just true of Arabs though. Rich and powerful people in most countries use and abuse the poor.
"But what about the poor children of Iraq?" they demand. I wonder if they've forgotten how their brother Arab, Hussein, invaded his brother's land of Kuwait, and in retreat, ignited the oil wells. And I wonder, if they truly care about the poor children of Iraq, why they are not feeding and loving them. And why so much money flows from Arab hands to murderers and to the teachers of murderers and to weapons, instead of food and medicine for the poor children of Iraq.
Such questions come from other lands, too. It is not just Arabs. And sometimes, I, like other Americans, cannot provide an answer, because I know our government, despite its good works, also screws up from time to time. Sometimes we recognize the complaints as valid.
Often, we go back to fix what we screwed up. We have also forgiven trillions of dollars in debts owed to us. We are not perfect. But we are human, and we have made many amends for our mistakes.
Yet the drumbeat goes on and on in newspapers around the globe. America is judged more harshly than the deliberate murderers who have taken thousands of innocent lives. Often, these judgments ride on the actions of ancestors long dead, which makes such judgments wrong.
I have never judged myself to be more superior than any man or woman in any land. I do not demand that other cultures or nations take up the practices of my culture or nation.
I admit to one bias, however. When I hear a self-proclaimed holy man preaching extreme fundamentalism, it makes my nerves raw. I have heard Christian, Jewish and Muslim clerics demand levels of intolerance or outright deadliness from their followers, and this angers me. Every one of them insists "God is on my side." And every time, I wonder why there are not more voices resisting such hatred by asking: "Who will be on God's side?"
And after the recent attacks on America, attacks which cost the lives of citizens in many countries and believers of many faiths (including hundreds of Muslims), the media reports suggest many self-professed moderates are thinking "maybe now Americans will understand and respond to our grievances."
I am only one man and I cannot speak for all my country, but I have this answer: I already understood. I have responded to many grievances and I believe many Americans have too. We have also lost hundreds of lives at the hands of terrorists well before this.
But I have learned. I have learned that some people will always blame a victim. I have learned that no matter what a nation does right, it will be forgotten by some people. I have learned that some people will dislike or hate all Americans, even though most of us are not rich and gain no advantage when our government screws up.
I've learned that hating, in the name of any God, is the belief of fools who do not realize they worship Satan or the perfection of evil.
I have learned that some people will never try to invent something useful, create a beautiful piece of art or music, or provide something constructive for others, because they are too busy blaming everything wrong in their lives on somebody else. I have learned that some people are insane enough to believe that inflicting pain or death is the only purpose they have in their rotten lives. I have learned there are more blamers and moral cowards in this world than I had ever imagined.
I have not learned to be more loving, caring, kind, courteous, respectful or sympathetic than I already was. If anything, I am less sympathetic, because in the wake of our great suffering, I have had to listen to the rudeness of repetitive accusations that suggest I or my family or neighbors are responsible for the miseries others inflict.
I do not see these terrible things in very many Americans at all, and I know these claims demonstrate ignorance or dishonesty. I feel the impulse to tell the ignorant or dishonest accusers to kiss my keister.
Perhaps I have become harder and will not trust such people again. I will certainly weigh more carefully who makes a worthy friend and who exhibits rudeness and unfriendliness and believes it to be the best way for a civilization to act.
I have been a lifelong lover of peace. Not just for Americans, but for all people everywhere. But recent events have made me think maybe there are some people who will always be dangerous, because they choose the coward's path of blame and hatred, instead of any real path to peace.
And if I've learned correctly, towards such people, I will always be The Ugly American. And if someone endangers me or my neighbors, or supports others who would endanger us, I will become uglier than such cowards can imagine.
Some people do not deserve peace, because their souls are possessed only by the evil of hate.
I have found no enjoyment in learning that. But I will not forget the lessons, or of how I became an Ugly American.
(C)Copyright 2001 by Kevin A. Hayden |
