The following link is by Noam Chomsky. He's kinda a big name in the education field, and because the page is kinda long, I recommend just reading to the middle, and skipping the last section: http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=22585
I remember, years and years ago, driving with Eric and his sister, Angela, and their mom across the country. Eric had made a mix CD for all of us to listen to, and on it was the Lee Greenwood song. Angela kept skipping it, cause she said she wasn't proud to be an American. Eric and I were shocked - how can you not be proud to be American?
When I first started traveling outside of America, I heard of stories about people hating Americans. I heard of backpackers who would sew Canadian flags to their backpack just so they wouldn't get in any trouble over their nationality. I was never that way though; I'd grown up believing that America was the best country in the world, and that we were pillars of justice and everything that's right about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I never got spit on. In fact, in the five countries I've encountered so far, I've had numerous occasions when people will smile really big and say "I love America!" after I tell them where I'm from (I get this the most from taxi drivers). In the almost 3 years I've spent outside of America, I can't think of one instance where I was conspicuously mistreated or maligned due to my nationality. Of course, I have about 300 more countries to visit before that little fact actually means anything.
Regardless, in the back of my mind, when I meet people from other countries, politics and nationality in some form or another enter the conversation, and I can't help but constantly wonder "Am I proud to be an American?"
It's a tough question, if you're honest enough with yourself to really think about it. A long time ago, when Angela didn't want to listen to Lee Greenwood sing about how great America is, it wasn't such a tough question for me. But, then again, a long time ago, I never really thought about it. I couldn't; I'd never really gotten my head around any opposing views, or read a newspaper from outside the U.S., or anything like that. I had a feeling that the Vietnam war wasn't right, but since I wasn't there I didn't know enough about it. But all the other stuff (our wars, the ways we treated other nations, the ways we treated ourselves or those we let live with us but we didn't really consider "ourselves") seemed right, I guess. If not all right, at least the good outweighed the bad, right?
And, right there, is the crux of the issue: does America's good outweigh America's bad? And, if it does, does it do it to an extent that we should be proud of it? I mean, that's how I'm measuring my pride in America. Sure, you can look at wealth or technology or military might or pumpkin pie or the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders if you want, but at the heart of the issue, it's a question of morality, plain and simple.
If you look at wars, some cases are hard to handle, and might be skipped: Was it right that the Confederacy seceded from the Union? Should Lincoln have just let them go?
But some are a bit easier and less hypothetical: Was the War of 1812 right? Was murdering the indigenous population in the name of Manifest Destiny right? Was the Spanish-American war right? Should we have entered WWI? Was WWII right? What about Korea? Vietnam? Bay of Pigs? Grenada? Persion Gulf? Afghanistan? Iraq? Iran in the future? North Korea in the future?
(By the way, don't ever openly question if the American Revolution was right. People will tar and feather you for just asking that question, cause it's so obviously right. We won.)
Take your tally. Of the 12 that have happened, can we hold our heads high on each and every single one?
I'm not one to make quick judgments. I read the article by Professor Chomsky. Honestly, it made me sad. I'm not gonna jump into things and say that beyond a doubt everything he reported was true, but I feel that I would be hard pressed to argue the antithesis.
Ok, so it's just one article, right? Not for me. This is just one of many times when my view of the U.S. is a bit shaken, much like a little boy starting to get the hint that perhaps Santa isn't real.
And, of course, I have many friends who would rationalize and justify everything America has done and ever will do, all in the name of freedom/security/control/power/money. And, so be it; I hear your argument, and to that, I respond, no matter where you stand in the political spectrum or how amazing America may or may not be to you, here is my one argument that cannot be denied, provided by Bill Maher (it's Bill Maher, you might have to cover your ears):
http://www.mediaite.com/online/bill-mahers-christmas-message-oprah-tell-your-audience-stop-losing-your-sht-over-material-stuff/
p.s. Oh, and one last thing. Please don't misdirect the argument in your mind. Proving that Canada is worse than us does not solve anything. Proving that something is the lesser of two evils in no way validates your pride in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment