I find it very interesting to read opinions that some people have about how the US conducts itself in the world. Like it is some kind of world police that goes around telling other countries what to do and how to do it. So think something has to be done in order to make this world a better place to live and since the US is, today, the most powerful country in the world, it is up to us to take the first steps towards that road. Others think that we have no right to tell anyone how to do things, that going about shoving our power into other people’s faces is wrong.
Let’s take a look at how some places around the world are compared to the USA. I’ll just pick some random countries as examples.
Africa:
"Africa is by far the world's poorest inhabited continent, and it is, on average, poorer than it was 25 years ago. It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with the ensuing Cold War and increases in corruption and despotism being major contributing factors to its poor economic situation. While rapid growth in China and now India, and moderate growth in South America, has lifted millions beyond subsistence living, Africa has stagnated, even going backwards in terms of foreign trade, investment, and per capita income. This poverty has widespread effects, including low life expectancy, violence, and instability - factors intertwined with the continent's poverty. Over the decades a number of solutions have been proposed and many attempted, but no improvement scheme has shown much success."
Well, it seems that even those in the lowest of lowest income in the US are actually much better than most people in Africa. So does our definition of poor relate to the rest of the world or are we just defining it based on our own standards?
Iran:
"Iran's post-revolution difficulties have included an eight-year war with Iraq, internal political struggles and unrest, and economic disorder. The early days of the regime were characterized by severe human rights violations and political turmoil, including the seizure of the United States embassy compound and its occupants on November 4, 1979, by Iranian militants. Many of the estimated 41 million eligible voters were under the age of 30 for a turnout of about 49%. This was considered a failure. Recent elections had been regarded as a test of strength between western influenced reformists and hardliners but this vote could also be seen as a virtual referendum on President Khatami's popularity.
In February 2004 Parliament elections, the Council of Guardians banned thousands of candidates, including most of the reformist members of the parliament and all the candidates of the Islamic Iran Participation Front party from running. This led to a win by the conservatives of at least 70% of the seats. The turnout was about 50%, the least in parliament elections since the establishment of the Islamic Republic."
Here a country who wants Israel destroyed, who is looking into "creating energy from nuclear power" when we all know what they really want, a country that sponsors terrorist. Who’s Govt is defying and threatening the UN if action is taken against them on this nuclear situation. But hey, I guess it’s only fair that every country has the right to have a WMD no matter how trigger-happy they might be or how connected are they to terrorist.
China:
"State power within the People's Republic of China (PRC) is divided among three bodies: the Communist Party, the State, and the Army, of which the Party has the supreme authority. The PRC is an oligarchy in which political power and advancement depends on gaining and retaining the support of an informal body of people numbering one to two thousand who constitute the leadership of these organs. Central government leaders must increasingly build consensus for new policies among party members, local and regional leaders, influential non-party members, and the population at large. However, control is often maintained over the larger group through control of information, propaganda and censorship. Historically, under Maoist period, Stalinist terror campaigns and purges were also important part of maintaining conformity with the political centre, but during the reform period these methods have been used in a more restricted and targeted manner."
We worry about the Govt snooping around on our phones and emails, chinese people can’t vene browse the internet without the Govt keeping an eye out on them Blocking any site that could give their people any ideas of changing the current Communist Govt. I mean, at least we can chose who to run the Country every 4 years and even though we don’t always have great choices at least we have choices. They stop any candidate who can change the Communist ideas there. Well I guess it’s either a choice of freedom or good economy.
Cuba:
"The Communist Party of Cuba (Partido Comunista de Cuba) is constitutionally recognized as Cuba's only legal political party. The party monopolizes all government positions, including judicial offices. Though not a formal requirement, party membership is virtually a de facto prerequisite for high-level official positions and professional advancement in most areas, although non-party members serve as deputies in the legislature if elected by popular suffrage. No political party, including the Communist Party of Cuba, is permitted to nominate or campaign for any candidate. However, since the Communist Party is the only legal party in Cuba, it is extremely difficult, if not next to impossible, to gain political clout without becoming a member of the Communist Party. Candidates are nominated at local levels by the local population at small "Town Hall" type meetings. Suffrage is afforded to Cuban citizens resident for two years on the island who are aged over sixteen years and who have not been found guilty of a criminal offence.
The national elections for the 609 members of the National Assembly of People's Power were held according to this system at 19 January 2003. All the 609 candidates who ran uncontested for the National Assembly were elected. According to IPU, all seats were won by the Communist Party of Cuba. Next to the Communist Party of Cuba, various political parties are illegal active in the country. The most important of these are the Christian Democratic Party of Cuba (Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Cuba), the Cuban Socialist Democratic Current (Corriente Socialista Democratica Cubana), the Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party of Cuba (Partido Social-Revolucionario Democrático de Cuba), the Democratic Solidarity Party (Partido Solidaridad Democratica), the Liberal Party of Cuba (Partido Liberal de Cuba) and the Social Democratic Co-ordination of Cuba (Coordinadora Social Demócrata de Cuba)."
You have to live around enough Cuband long enough (I have) to understand the life in Cuba. Your own friends, neighbors and even family members would rat you out, speak against the Govt, just to be in good terms with the Govt and get so money for food. Conditions there are so bad, Cubans are willing to risk their lives in the ocean to make it to the US. Building anything that can float out of anything they can get their hands on, risking sharks, cold nights, running out of food, currents that could take them no where near land, the Cuban patrol boats that will kill on site or catch them lock them up and let them die and sometimes even the coast guards of the US who will be forced, by the law, to return them back to Cuba, and just imagen what will happen to them.
These are just a few of the many places around the world where people are either dying of deplorable conditions, being killed for speaking against the Govt, having their right to freedom being denied to them. Places where the Govt rules and the citizens can or are not allowed to do nothing about it.
These citizens are humans like you and me, people who eat, breath, get sick, play and think like we do. Who’s blood is red, and their hearts beat, who want to be lawyers, doctors, computer technicians, racecar drivers, basketball players, mothers and fathers.
But what do we care right? We don’t live in any of these countries so why should we be concerned with their well being? Why are we so concerned with Global Warming? Is it because it affects everyone around the world or only your country? Why are we so concerned with WMD like nukes? Is it because it can wipe us out in a single hit, or because it can cause a fallout on a global scale and kill people from other countries?
I often ask myself if we worry about how dangerous something can be is it because we care about others or just ourselves and our loved ones? Many people believe that the US should not be involed in other countries affairs, yet when disaster strikes we are expected to be the first to respond and to be the ones to do the most. It’s like being rich, we don’t want the rich people, just their money.
So what are we to do to help make this world a better place? Time and time again it has been proven that Diplomacy is a waste of time when dealing with people like Saddam Hussein, Mohammad Khatami, Kim IL Sung, and Osama Bin Ladden. So how do you deal with people like them when they persist to be a threat to the rest of the world? Saddam with his links to terrorist and lack of proof of disposing of his chemical and Bio WMD, Mohammad and his link to terrorist and his pursuit for enriched uranium that can be used for nukes, Kim and his constant threats to the US, Osama and his passion to destroy the American people. Should we just ignore them? Wait for them to act on their threats? Continue to allow them to kill innocent people, including their own countrymen?
If anyone has a better way to deal with these people that will not require military action and is more effective than Diplomacy, I am all ears. BTW, the UN and their sanctions have had about as much effect on any of these countries as Advil does for stomach aches. What’s the point of having the UN if they refuse to enforce the laws they create.
I guess it doesn't matter what the US does or how many good things the US does, there will always be something bad behind it according to many people. Good guys always finish last.