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Zonie63 -> RE: Pugsly of North Korea (4/3/2013 6:08:18 AM)
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ORIGINAL: YN
The US is often regarded as the lackey of multinationals and of Europeans hoping to continue their colonial exploitation here.
LOL. To listen to Europeans tell it, they would claim that they're the lackeys and that America exploits them.
But here, you're claiming that the U.S. is the lackey, and that Europeans are the puppet masters. That seems closer to the truth in my mind, considering the direction U.S. policy has taken since World War II.
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You would be more highly regarded if you limited your "policing" to actual policing, as opposed to functioning as corporate or European tools, and especially when this activity is not only seen as adverse to the Latin Americas, but as adverse to your own people's interests as well.
There are some Americans who are concerned with their country's reputation and how America is regarded in the world. There are some Americans who would agree that our government functions as a corporate tool to the detriment of our own people as well as people in other parts of the world. But from what I can see of the foreign lobby here in America, as well as glimpses of the foreign press and opinions from around the world, they still seem to playing the same game as the U.S. government and the major political factions. These foreign critics of America don't seem willing to acknowledge or give moral support to any third party movements to try to change things for the better.
That's why I get somewhat frustrated by America's critics from abroad, since it seems like all they do is sit there and complain, without really wanting to actually do something to help change the situation.
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Take the events since WW2 and inspect the United States role in each with the following questions in your mind -
Who actually got the United States into the matter?
As far as WW2 is concerned, the countries directly responsible for getting the U.S. into the war were those which declared war on us first: Japan, and then a few days later, Germany and Italy. We didn't attack or declare war first; they did.
Regarding events since WW2, they were pretty much an outgrowth of consequences as a result of that war. The European nations were weakened and losing their empires, while the U.S. was concerned with the Soviet Union and the potential loss of Western hegemony in the world. The U.S. government was acting more as an "Ally" and not strictly pro-American (or even pro-democracy).
But all of this was done with the apparent assent of the American people. The people made their choice at the polls, and they supported those politicians who formulated America's foreign policies. Many Americans were scared and felt they were in danger during the Cold War, so they supported the politicians whom they felt would best protect them and their interests. Foreign policy itself became a much more important issue in the eyes of Americans, often diverting their attention away from domestic policies. While we may have been somewhat neutral and isolationist in the past, Americans were openly convinced that they had to support a different course from now on. There's this belief that "if only we had acted sooner," then we might have prevented the massive devastation and loss of life in World War II.
Americans didn't really see themselves or their government as a "tool," or at least, it just didn't seem that obvious at the time. It was a new situation for them, with the advent of the Cold War and nuclear weapons, and they probably didn't really know what to make of it. So, they trusted the politicians, our foreign policy experts, our military leaders...they figured they knew what was best for America's survival and national interests. Our survival was linked to the survival of other Western powers.
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Who actually profited from the United States activities?
Quite a few people, I'm sure, both within the United States and outside of the United States.
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What exactly did the working and middle classes in the United States actual get for their blood and treasure?
A lot of working and middle class Americans did actually do pretty well, compared to previous generations of Americans. There was a huge post-war boom which improved the standard of living all across America during the 1950s and 60s. But it was apparently only a short-term windfall, as things started to go sour in the 1970s. While we should have buckled down and dealt with the situation back then, the voters instead opted to enter the supply-side economists' opium den, where the mantra was "Don't worry, be happy."
Now, they're worried about their pensions and wondering where all the money went.
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In almost every case you will see either a European and/or a multinational CEO staring back at you, usually smiling with a sack of money in his hand.
Oh, there are plenty of Americans with sacks of money, too. Actually, if you go to any country, even some of the poorest in the world, you'll probably find at least few people with sacks of money. Some of those Latin American dictators and generals seemed to squirrel away some rather tidy nest eggs. A lot of new billionaires coming out of China and Russia these days. I see a lot of wealthy people from all over the world, so it seems like the wealth is getting spread around the world to some degree.
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