Tools of Oppression: Made In the U.S.A.

The United States likes to wax eloquently about how it is such an enviable moral nodal for freedom and liberty. The pinnacle of Western liberty (increasingly that liberty is on a precipice). So enviable in fact that people are willing to blow themselves up just to illustrate how much they "hate our freedoms".

It would be great if America's foreign policy actually lived up to the hype. Alas, and I said this with no satisfaction, the foreign policy of the United States is often crude cynicism, bullying, callous disregard for human rights, and opportunistic feigning for human rights. This is not to say that the United States is an exceedingly bad nation. The Europeans love to lecture America: But it is just the norm of empire. Great Britain, France, Belgium and Portugal had far more egregiously records during their time. Europeans can lecture now because they're no longer in the game. But now it is America's time to dominate. The United States is keen on maintaining a hegemonic global presence and such a commitment entails, nay necessities, trade-offs with one's esteemed and professed values. That's Empire.

But America was supposed to be different. Her founders detested the European monarchs and their overseas adventures that oppressed natives and bankrupted the nation. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both warned about the trappings of war and empire, along with many other Founding Fathers. The census in Revolutionary America was for a restrained and non-interventionist foreign policy. How far we've come.

Empire is one thing. But the United States never tries of lecturing antagonistic nations on international conventions and how they are "rogue" when they deviate. (And is Saudi Arabia, the beloved moderate [sic] ally, conventional or rogue when it comes to the international status of women?). But how well do America's leader adhere to said norms? The Economist recently noted that amongst UN General Assembly votes the world only votes with America only 39%. Sounds like the Great U.S. of A. is in the rogue minority (and much of this is due to U.S. apologia for Israel where, forget the 39%, the US is in the club of seven, no joking that the actual number of nations that side with Israeli human rights violations and occupation).

And what got me thinking about this is that recently a young female Palestinian peace activist in the town of Bil'in was killed after Israeli terrorist occupiers fired a tear gas can at her. The can read:

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The United States also sells Israel cluster bombs, which most other nations have outlawed due to their indiscriminate attack against civilians; and the United States has stood alone against the whole world to defend its continued manufacturing of land mines. How nice.

And this is the nation that thinks it is the moral light of the world! Self-righteous hogwash!