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What We Are Becoming or What We Have Become?
by James Glaser November 22, 2010 
I am sure all around the world, people have many different ideas of what the United States is. I am sure age has a lot to do with it. Older people, probably many of the people still in power, still think of us as the country that saved the world back in World War II. Of course those younger, remember nothing about us saving anyone. In fact, those who don't remember us when we really were the good guys, have a totally different opinion of our country. Oh yes, there was a time in the 1950s and early 60s when we were still sending hospital ships to third world countries, and the Peace Corps was helping out in many countries, but in truth, we were only helping out people on our side of the Iron Curtain. So, much of the world was getting a different picture painted of us. Since then, in just about every place we used to help out, we have gone to war with somebody. In every case, those "some bodies" were third world countries with inferior armies. That is except Vietnam. We probably shouldn't have taken them on, because even after we killed over one million Vietnamese, they would not give up, and so we had to. It took about 60,000 American dead, billions of dollars, more tons of bombs that we used in all of WW II, and even hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical warfare agents before we figured out that those "Gooks' were not about to let us win. So we left. Of course we left most of the Vietnamese who were helping us, and they paid a heavy price. Also, we left the residue of all of those chemical Agents we used, (Agent Orange, White, and Blue) and they are still causing birth defects over there. So who knows, in another couple of decades maybe we can declare victory. Other than Vietnam, we can claim victory in every war we have fought. Of course that would rule out Somalia and Lebanon as wars to be counted. So, we won't talk about them. But every place else, we killed way more people that we lost, even if the other side didn't have an army. Of course the numbers would be even more lopsided, but we no longer count the civilians we kill. That wouldn't seem fair would it? We have come a long way since we defeated the Nazis' and Japs. We sure did a number on them, as neither has gone to war since. We sure taught them a lesson, huh? Of course we learned some things from them, too. We torture now, and I guess we don't care who knows it. We also have learned to kidnap people, and stick them in one of our secret prisons we have put around the world. Can you believe it, some people think of our CIA as our Gestapo. We are smarter now, too. While the rest of the world decided that they would ban land mines, we said "No way." Now we have all the land mines. Of course we have hung on to our thousands and thousands of nuclear weapons, and the world knows if push comes to shove, we will use them. We are still the only country to totally incinerate two large civilian cities with nuclear bombs. That showed the world just how powerful we are. I am sure that has figured into how many think of us. Not only have we been in an almost constant state of war since the Big One, we have also become the world's arms merchant. In fact many people now call us the Merchant of Death. You think they are jealous? I guess I don't really know what we have become. Many in America think we are the country that is spreading freedom and democracy to the rest of the world. Of course the people we have spread it to or tried to, might have a different idea about that. Many think we are just spreading hate. I have always said if you kill my mother or father, sister or brother, or God forbid my child, or even my best friend down the block, I'll hate you till the day I die. Well in the last several decades we have killed lots of people. In fact we have killed more people than any other country. I guess spreading freedom and democracy takes a lot of killing. So, I just don't know what we have become, but I am sure every person around the world has an idea on that one. I also bet most of those people are thinking we are no longer the good guys. |
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