America – the great exception June 4, 2007
Posted by Al in : politics , trackbackHere’s a neat article, in all definitions of the word “neat”, which encapsulates the position America is suddenly realising it is in. For the past 200+ years America has stood behind it’s constitution, rightly and proudly, and considered itself above the rest of the world; beyond the need to follow the rules that the rest of the world was abiding by – due to it’s wonderful constitution. And for those past 200+ years America has been the place to be; the aim of many a migrant; the home of the poor and the weary; the land of the free.
However, things change, and the rest of the world’s view of America is changing, as is the view of a lot of it’s citizens. America is now seen as a bully, with a liar and cheat leading it into conflicts that rope the rest of the world in, whether they want to be involved or not. As long as America continues to ignore international rules and laws, and continues to be an exception, then the rest of the world will continue to grow to hate America. I don’t think it will be long before Britain starts to carefully undo the ties that have bound the 2 nations so strongly before. The rest of Europe has already started this distancing procedure, whilst trying to keep the American market open. This might not continue, though, as the American economy continues to flounder, and it slowly becomes uneconomical to market goods in America – then I think you will see a shift towards Asia, with Europe focusing on the quality/luxury market, as they are unlikely to be able to undercut the Asians in the mass-produced arena.
The American dream may be sold out. The rest of the world may be fed up with America considering itself above them. It may be time for Americans to realise that they can no longer be an exception; that they have to conform; that they can no longer be a bully and a torturer. Maybe all this could be resolved if the American public start to realise this, and then act to elect a government which would actually do something to atone for the last 50 years of American chauvinism (America helped win WW2, but didn’t win it by themselves; failed to achieve anything in Vietnam or Korea; created a pointless space race that they knew they could win; escalated the nuclear arms race to the point where we all may be dead if a computer crashes; ignored the Kyoto protocol; invaded Iraq twice; attempted to goad China and Taiwan into fighting; etc.). Maybe – but I doubt it.
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And here’s a great example of how even the closest of America’s neighbours are already fed up of America and it’s self-satisfaction.