Why Is America So Reviled In The World?
Have you ever wondered why the United States is so reviled by so many people on this planet? Why are we not, as a nation, asking this question out loud over and over again? Are we so arrogant that we don’t notice or care that a significant portion of the world population despises us, and hates the very fact of our existence? And I’m not necessarily referring to world leaders here. I’m talking about regular folks like you and me, who get up and go to work in the morning, and kiss their kids goodnight. I’m talking about the regular citizens of other countries, and especially the poor and disadvantaged.
Here are a few reasons that I think we are so reviled around the world:
1. Sense of Entitlement. The world looks at us on TV and sees well-dressed people that eat too much, driving big cars that suck way too much gas, living in houses that are mansions compared to where most people on earth live. Somehow we got the idea that we entitled to more than others. We think we deserve to burn more fuel, create more pollution, eat more food, gain more weight, and basically have a lifestyle that, when compared to the Earthly human average, makes us look like we think we are the kings of the world. Literally BILLIONS of people live in abject poverty; our country struggles with health problems caused by obesity. The vast majority of people on the planet struggle to keep warm or cool or safe or alive; we leave the lights on all night, keep several million people air conditioned in Phoenix, and drive RVs to Las Vegas to gamble on The Strip. Is it any wonder that the dispossessed in the world despise us?
2. Corporate Greed. Large multinational corporations, many of which were started and are headquartered here in the United States, take gross advantage of the populace of this and other, less powerful countries. Corporations dominate our national government, and are able to twist government policy to their own ends, and in too many cases, in direct disregard to the basic rights of humans in this country and others.
3. Leadership Arrogance. As a country, we behave like think we know it all. We take the stance that our policies are more evolved and thus simply better than the policies of other countries. Worse, we systematically force our agenda on the world at large. And since we have the most powerful military on the planet, we often force that agenda on other countries, whether they like it or not. And even when we are clearly wrong, for whatever reason, do we ever offer apology or restitution to those we have harmed? We have over and over again visited atrocities on innocent people of the world, usually in the name of national security or making peace. But do we ever express any regret at any error that we make?
4. Blatant Hypocrisy. We stand and loudly proclaim our support of civil rights, women’s rights, equal rights for all citizens, religious freedoms, etc. And yet we have a long history of engaging in beneficial relationships with countries that suborn those rights (China being the most blatant example at this moment). That practice continues today. We enter into relationship with countries that trample the rights of their citizens in ways that we would never allow in this country. Why? So we can benefit strategically and financially, so we can accumulate wealth and power. American hypocrisy abounds. Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, is a prime example. Literally yards from our center of power, poverty is rampant, drug abuse is uncontrolled. More and more of our own citizens, especially the young and old, are hungry and living in poverty; more and more of our citizens are without adequate healthcare; our education system and infrastructure is slowly degrading. The list of national ills goes on and on. But what do we hear from our national government? The economy is vibrant; things are good. Meanwhile government officials accumulate wealth, corporate leaders make millions.
5. Government Corruption. We export our national agenda as if we alone know what’s best for the world, but it’s corporate and special interests that are the most powerful shapers and the main beneficiaries of that agenda. This is most dangerous, my fellow Americans. We need to remember what fascism is: “government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.” Excuse me, but that’s what happening here, slowly but surely.
6. Exportation of Violence. We talk peace but we export war. Under the guise of self-defense, we attack, attack, attack. There is violence everywhere in this country: physical, mental, and emotional violence. You need only watch TV or go the movies to realize that we have a national culture of violence. You need only look at our foreign policy and how we carry it how to see how violent it is. We are not out to create peace with other countries. We are seeking strategic advantages for resource and wealth. This means we are taking, by force, from other countries. Yes, we couch our deeds in diplomatic terms, and always put the best spin on it, but the effect in the end is simple exploitation. Essentially, we wouldn’t have the lifestyle that we do in America without stepping on the necks of our fellow humans. We have not gotten rid of slavery; we have only exported it to other countries. You need only look at our history to see that we are a country who is almost constantly at war, and too often for reasons that have to do with enforcing policies that support our sense of entitlement and our collective greed.
7. Religious Bigotry. Freedom of religious expression is a cornerstone of this country’s foundation. But while we profess to promote religious tolerance, one of the basic tenets of the dominant religion in this country is the concept of heaven and hell, and the notion that unless you subscribe to a specific set of beliefs, you are doomed to hell for all eternity. In other words, we’re absolutely right, you’re absolutely wrong. Period, end of discussion. How more threatening can we be? And how can ever possibly hope to peacefully coexist with other cultures who maintain the same zealous viewpoint, i.e., that their way of doing it is the only right way. Do we really hope to convert the whole world (much less our own country) to the “one” religion?
8. National Dishonesty. We are not, as a national government policy, in the habit of being honest about things, not about our true intentions, not about what’s really going on behind the scenes, not about the relationships between individuals in the top echelons of our government and individuals in the top echelons of the wealthiest corporations, not about mistakes we make in foreign policy, not about the dirty deeds we do that nobody’s supposed to find out about, not about anything about anything. And it’s usually in the name of National Security, which is not honest either. We do sneaky, unjust deeds in the name of national security to further a murky, self-serving foreign policy, and when we get caught we talk about in terms that are designed to obscure the truth.
Look, I know this country does a lot of good in the world. I know that as a rule our citizens are generally kind, generous, helpful, compassionate, well-meaning individuals. There is real pride about what we (used to and maybe still do in a lot of areas and are supposed to) stand for. You know: liberty, freedom, justice for all, religious tolerance, all people are created equal, love your fellow man, the ten commandments, do the right thing, etc.
But we have let the control of this great nation fall into the hands of professionals whose jobs are to collect and maintain wealth and power for themselves and those they serve. They possess extraordinary intelligence, are very motivated, and work hard every day to further their goals. Unfortunately, the welfare of the average American, much less, the average Earth human, is not their priority.
When greed, arrogance, hypocrisy, violence, corruption, bigotry, and dishonesty become our national standards, it’s time to start admitting it, talking about it, and taking concrete steps to change it. We’ve got to start creating a different national vision than that of the very few who run this country, one of tolerance and acceptance, one of leading the way by positive examples of compassion, sharing, generosity, and goodwill. And we’ve got to infuse all that with a genuine attitude of humility, and genuine desire to make positive change for all humanity, not just Americans. Let’s face it, the world’s problems are not getting better, and they’re not going away.
It seems like somewhere along the line our sense of entitlement started getting in the way – perhaps we began resting on our laurels, - and we began taking it all for granted, the standard of living, the cheap resources, the easy life. We’ve had great advantages in terms of resources, wealth and education. But we’re using up our resources at an alarming rate and our wealth is slowly slipping away. And anyone who thinks our education system is getting better isn’t paying very close attention.
We’re in the long slow decline, my fellow Americans. This is not the time to take what you can simply because you think it will all be gone soon. It’s the time to open our hearts and start giving of ourselves to each other and to our six or seven billion brothers and sisters.
And we’ve got to trust that there are like-minded people all over the world who will join us in creating lasting peace through openness, trust, compassion, genuine understanding, and tolerance for remarkable and even shocking differences between cultures.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to hear something like this come out of our president’s mouth:
“My fellow Americans:
Today, far too many people look at the United States of America with hatred and distain. Let’s figure out why and take immediate steps to change it.
Today, more and more people in this country and the world are living in poverty and hunger. That is simply not acceptable, and we’ve got to do something about it. Now.
Today, in this country, corporate and special interests wield far too much power and influence. We’ve got to turn this power structure upside down, and return power to the real government, the people of this country.
Today, we, as a nation, we are using far more than our fair share of energy and resources. Let’s immediately commit to change and become world leaders in conservation and efficient energy usage.
Today, far that too many of our citizens and fellow humans are without adequate health care. This is a national and world tragedy and something that absolutely must change.
This country has a long history of violence, genocide, slavery, repression, and war. We’ve got to come to grips with our history, and start making peace, tolerance, and acceptance our national policy.
Let’s make these our goals:
- To become the world leaders in the research and development of inexpensive, non-polluting, sustainable energy
To lead the way toward the production and distribution of healthy, high quality food for everyone on this planet
To become humble and productive world citizens, and leaders in the exportation of tolerance, forgiveness and acceptance
We’ve been blessed with the resources and advantages that allow us a premier way of life. That puts us in a unique position to be of great service to ourselves and all humanity. It is well past the time that we begin in earnest to share our many blessings with the rest of the world.
We’ve got to come to terms with the fact that our vision of God is but one among many, and that road to true lasting world peace begins with accepting this fact. None is better or worse than another, none more valid or real. Let’s accept the fact that there are many paths to God and promote that idea to the world.
May God bless us all, in this country and everywhere.”
Mark Maxwell is an author, musician and commentator living in the mountains of central California. You can read more at Radical Dissent.
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