Why do so many people bash the USA?

[Ned]

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
Just some statistics:

America has fought over 200 armed conflicts. 5 have been declared wars.

Now... this:

We are in the Pax Americana. But there has also been a Pax Britannia and a Pax Romana. There have been eras of maintained "peace" like this one before held together by other powers. Britain did her own share of assisting struggling countries in the world. She, like us, also did her share of conquest (only Britain made it more blatant).

Bingo. This is it.

If one looks back on history without passion or interest, one can say the following:

Pax Romana was good for the world. True, a lot of people died resisiting Roman power, but it brought the West a commonwealth and the rule of law that enabled civilization to reach a new height on this planet. The Romans themselves were long confident of the superiority of their governmental system, and sought to extend its power to bring order to the world.

If you talk, however, to the Jews, you will find they have nothing good to say about the Romans. They were one of the Empire's chief victims. Ditto the Catholic Church to the extent that the Romans persecuted the Christians.

I have no doubt as well that Pax Britannia was similarly good for the world. It spread British civilization across the planet and no doubt is the greatest single cause of the modern world we live in. But talk to an American, to an Irishman or to an Indian, and you will get a picture of British arrogance and oppression. But what really happened is that these were offspring who had grown up and now wanted to handle their own affairs.

During WWII, Roosevelt formed the outlines of American foreign policy that we still follow today. Gone were the days of isolationism that existed prior to war. Roosevelt and his people had a vision: We would decolonize the world, form a United Nations that would attend to world order under American leadership, and lead the world to an new era of peace, prosperity and respect for human rights.

Perhaps Roosevelt's vision was somewhat naive, but it is inspiring to Americans. Unfortunately, we were never able to successfully carry out Roosevelt's vision due the advance of communism, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. But Bush Sr. turn that all around in Desert Storm when he united the world in a common cause for justice. Clinton continued to lead the international community during his presidency in that great cause. And now it is Bush Jr.'s turn.

But there is no doubt that America is hardly a passive participant in the new world order. America is clearly aggressive. This aggressiveness frightens both people who are our friends and those who are our enemies. Our friends because of potential disruptions and accidents of war. Our enemies because they know their freedom to kill and oppress are limited by American power.

Almost no one is neutral on America, but for good reason.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
Britain did her own share of assisting struggling countries in the world. She, like us, also did her share of conquest (only Britain made it more blatant).

Those were good times.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
DL!

A DL, with May 1999?

That's an awful long time to sit and wait, especially being used for another one of these " why does the world hate the USA" threads.

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
Oh yeah... American women are hard to get...

I had four girls in total in my graduating high school class of 186 students that had either had babies or were currently pregnant.

On my first day in college, my room mate had sex with a girl from down the hall. Another guy down the hall got felettio from a girl upstairs. And in one room, a guy was having sex with a girl on the bottom bunk while another guy on top was having sex with TWO girls... and this was Day #1!

I would not e-mail this to B. Clinton he would be moving in on you guys.

[DaShi]

Darn, I wish I had that pic of ol' Bill at the NY state fair.

[Pekka]

Originally posted by Felch X
So if the United States wasn't the wealthiest most powerful nation in the world, people would still hate it Pekka?

Well if we are speaking of people who hate the US, and group them as 'the people who hate the US', I will bet all my money that there are more than 2% of those who hates the US because of another reason than it being wealthy. And of course everybody doesn't hate the US even if it's often interpreted so, falsely.

[Pekka]

But sure some people would target their hate to the next country if the US stopped being the wealthiest.

[Lefty Scaevola]

"Why do so many people bash the USA? "

death wish.

[Illyrien]

The people in Scandinavia, that most strongly bash USA, are the same people that gladly supported the Soviet Empire, North Korea, China and Cambodia and happily denying that anything bad could possible happen in these countries....

The funny thing is that they bash USA when it acts...and they also bash USA when it does nothing...very confusing. I dont blame USA for not listening to these people.

[Pekka]

Wooot? That's a first. Get a grip.

[Chris 62]

Why?

Because it's there is the obvious answer.

More to the point is a real or percieved view of American motives and actions, and a rather amusing Euro belief that they know more about the world and the US then Americans do (this is very common, I hear it in every anti-US thread, some do, many do not).

The main problem I see/hear most often is the US support for Israel is the roote cause of all the ills of the ME, and thus the world, and a total denile of any wrong doing by any comunist nation in the cold war (this IS NOT SAYING THE US DIDN'T DO WRONG THINGS, so holster that flame pilgrim!), trying to say the US caused this or that here or there.

The US often acts as blame proxy for many things, whether it is guilty or not.

Another matter is the US attitude towards world wide treaties and organizations.
Americans have a long standing aversion to foreign entagelments that was put aside after WWII, but seems to be growing again.
The average American usually distrusts the motives of foreign nations (often incorrectly) when they propose things like the ICC and the Kyoto accords.

All of these things seem to add into it, but in the end, it is often childishness that leads to so many "evil US" threads, or ill-informed posts concerning the US.

That's how I see it.

[Velociryx]

Good points, Chris....what's disgustingly funny 'bout that is that the US isn't the one who "set aside" Israel's land for them (Brits?). Like Vietnam, another example of the US having to take care of business when the Euros wanted nothing further to do with a given situation (IIRC, Vietnam started out as a French problemo, yes?)

Stranger still....okay....so a lot of people are ticked that we support Israel. And if we suddenly withdrew all support, we'd be accused of Hitlerean-style genocide of the jewish people.

The US gets maligned if it acts.

It gets maligned if it does not act.

If these other nations know so much more about what needs doing than we do....why don't they put their money where their mouths are, I wonder?

Ahhhh, but that would be asking too much I s'pose....

-=Vel=-

[Ned]

Vel, I think we caused Vietnam in a way. At our insistence, the Allies declared that IndoChina was to be free and independent at the close of the war. We sent Mountbatten into the South and the Chinese into the North as an interim administration. But the French colonials rearmed the Japanese and retook control.

But, this didn't set well with our former allies, the communists, who resisted because they wanted to be free and independent just as we promised. Thus the war started.

[Velociryx]

Oh, I know it was an unfair statement.....rather akin to a great many unfair critisms levelled at the US....

-=Vel=-

[Cybergod]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
I know. It isn't like Serbia doesn't have enough to be ashamed of already.

Actually, we only have to be ashamed of the last 12 years and that's it! If you ignore them I could be freelly claming that for the last 2 millenias we have been among the most noblest! Unlike some who haven't even existed for half a millenia and seek to impose a new age of imperialism... *cough*

[Cybergod]

The reason for the USA receiving so much bashing can be clearly illustrated in SMAC - If you are no.1, the world doesn't particulary like you. If you are twice as powerful as the next most powerful faction, the world hates your guts and wishes the mindworms eat you up slowly, bit by bit. It's like playing University, having 100s of bases, Singularity Planet Busters, controlling a good portion of Planet (economically, politically/diplomatically and militarily), and being threatened by a pathetic Chairman Yang (who uses Missile Jets), who dislikes your "anarchist" democracy.

Oops, this was an unintetional advert for Alpha Centauri...

[Ned]

Originally posted by Cybergod
The reason for the USA receiving so much bashing can be clearly illustrated in SMAC - If you are no.1, the world doesn't particulary like you. If you are twice as powerful as the next most powerful faction, the world hates your guts and wishes the mindworms eat you up slowly, bit by bit. It's like playing University, having 100s of bases, Singularity Planet Busters, controlling a good portion of Planet (economically, politically/diplomatically and militarily), and being threatened by a pathetic Chairman Yang (who uses Missile Jets), who dislikes your "anarchist" democracy.

Oops, this was an unintetional advert for Alpha Centauri...

I think the analogy is very apt.

[red_jon]

Yes, but in Alpha Centauri you don't see your citizens waving millions of flags and screaming they're better than everyone else at the other factions.

There's a certain arrogance that comes with such power - I've no doubt 100 years ago we British were the same.