I was last in the US in early September - I go back often. I will be back for Thanksgiving too.
Whether US policy is bad has nothing to do with whether it's more or less bad than other countries. The US should hold itself to a higher standard when it comes to official policies.
Speaking about US attitudes, you are right that I should qualify what I say as aimed against those who perpetrate bigotry and ignorance: people who attack all Muslims, people who attack all Europeans, etc. But I hear that crap from many sides in the US, in media, politics, "entertainers" and many ordinary people.
Most of my concerns about the US are rooted in the damage being done to the American economy, society and position in the world. The current deficit is unnecessary and insane. From what I see, American society is more and more consumed by hatred and fear and worry and bashing anyone who could be blamed for someone else's problems. Much of that is the legacy of hate-talk radio and the Foxified "news" on all the channels now.
As for America's position in the world, I know many Americans don't care but I do, so do many others. Even five years ago, America was the leader at many international fora that managed world affairs as best they could. Today we are isolated, often disrespected, much less trusted, and much less safe because dozens of countries we used to get along with closely now put us at arms length.
Wrecking our former relationships did not make us more secure, as the neocons promised - that also pisses me off. The US military is too overstretched now to respond effectively to a new threat. We hamstrung ourselves voluntarily. Dumb.
That's the price of zealotry and unilateralism. The Bush crowd was happy to go down that road until they tripped and landed in the shit. I really, really hate to see the US paying the price for this delusional fantasy called the New American Century.
Now we are up to our ass in alligators with no one to blame but ourselves. US leaders made the choices that got us here. |
