Does America Have the Moral Authority to be the "World's Policeman"?

[Eng Grez]

Who determines which country is free and which country is oppressive? Who determines which country is peaceful and which country is an aggressive imperialist?

Apparently, America believes it is the one nation which can answer these questions. America believes it has the moral high ground. Does it?

Let's take a look at this quote:

"Strikes at population targets (per se) are likely not only to create a counterproductive wave of revulsion abroad and at home, but greatly to increase the risk of enlarging the war with China and the Soviet Union. Destruction of locks and dams, however - if handled right - might offer promise. It should be studied. Such destruction does not kill or drown people. By shallow-flooding the rice, it leads after time to widespread starvation (more than a million) unless food is provided - which we could offer to do - at the conference table."

- John McNaughton, US State Department Vietnam policy

This is a hot topic, to be sure. Is America seen by the world as a nation promoting freedom, liberty, and justice? Or is America seen by the world as an oppressive imperialist leaving only death and destruction in its path?

What do you think? Is America good or evil?

 

[Eng Grez]

Ok. It's 7 in the morning and I don't know why the hell I woke up early on a winter break.

Ahem. Well, I picked Very Bad for many reasons.

After WWII, the world looked up to America for support and aid. They were the ones who were capable of helping the countries who were raped during the war. Not only because they wanted too, but because they had too. America had wanted to prevent the Soviets from making a gain in Europe and around the world.

But by preventing Communism from spreading into the parts of the world, America made more enemies than friends. The reason was the way America handled it. Supporting ruthless dictators who were pro-Western, acting physically instead of diplomatically to protect interests in a region, lying to gain support, backstabbing and backbiting allies, etc. It was trying to be everyone's friend, but that wouldn't work.

Now if we look at modern times, we see the American government still telling us lies, attacking countries, creating fake Osama tapes, making us kill thousands of innocents to find a WMD, ignoring the rest of the world, etc.

Rather than try to gain trust of a people or approach an issue diplomatically, America rather acts physically and engages in war. It makes international decisions on what it thinks is best regardless of what others say. And if America has to go to war, it obviously means that America couldn't find another solution. So how can a country like this who's solution is war, how CAN it be the police force of the world?

 

[Bells]

Originally posted by Eng Grez
Is America seen by the world as a nation promoting freedom, liberty, and justice? Or is America seen by the world as an oppressive imperialist leaving only death and destruction in its path?

Recent times have shown the world that the US and her allies do not promote such ideals. While it may attempt to promote such ideals within her own borders, it takes liberties outside of it. Guantanamo Bay is a prime example. Prisoners there are held without charge and without right of seeking legal representation. Those who have been released from the prison camp have not been compensated for their false imprisonment. Such actions are in contrast to America's Constitution. Even the US Court of Appeal for the 9th Circuit have doubts in regards to the manner in which the US government are conducting themselves...

On 18 December 2003, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in a case brought for Libyan national Faren Gherebi, among the first transferred to Cuba and still held there: "Even in times of national emergency - indeed, particularly in such times - it is the obligation of the Judicial Branch to ensure the preservation of our constitutional values and to prevent the Executive Branch from running roughshod over the rights of citizens and aliens alike." The Court continued: "Under the government's theory, it is free to imprison Gherebi indefinitely along with hundreds of other citizens of foreign countries, friendly nations among them, and to do with Gherebi and these detainees as it will, when it pleases, without any compliance with any rule of law of any kind... Indeed, at oral argument, the government advised us that its position would be the same even if the claims were that it was engaging in acts of torture or that it was summarily executing the detainees... It is the first time that the government has announced such an extraordinary set of principles - a position so extreme that it raises the gravest concerns under both American and international law".

How can the world view the US as being the bearer of freedom, liberty and justice when they themselves have a Government that uses such notions and ideals as a tool against others while they themselves ignore it altogether? The Patriot Act is an example of how they have ignored such notions within their own borders.

 

[Pollux V]

Moral Authority doesn't matter. The US is the one with the biggest guns and the most money. For as long as we're at the top we can do whatever the hell we want. Just be thankful that we're as benificent as we are--past Empires with power proportionately equal to ours were starting large scale wars on a frequent basis--Germany, France, Britain, Rome. They were autocracies. We at least pretend not to be.

For the moment, I'd say compared to the past Imperial Powers, we're the best one. We're the nicest. The people in the nation still have a pretty solid ability to choose their leaders, and thus, choose how our foreign policy functions, so it is our fault (well, not my fault, I can't vote yet) when a random Central American is gunned down by commandos trained at the School of the Americas, when a bunch of kurds are suffocated with our gas by a dictator that we put into power.

In spite of this, quality of life in America is one of the best, if not the best, in the world, perhaps better than the world has ever seen. That's the difference between our Empire and the Empires of the past. The people at home are taken care of. Non-citizens can really go to hell, though.

 

[guthrie]

"In spite of this, quality of life in America is one of the best,"

But mental quality? Why is it that ive read stuff going back 50 and more years, that talks about the american desperation behind the facade of happiness and success?

"The people at home are taken care of. Non-citizens can really go to hell, though."

Not quite. Rich or powerful foreigners are taken care of. Actual citizens are tolerated, and given some crumbs off the table, as long as they dont shout too loudly.

 

[EI_Sparks]

I dunno about that quality of life assessment Pollox, not when Business week is pointing out that social mobility in the US, which was never high to begin with, has fallen dramatically over the last ten to fifteen years.

 

[otheadp]

Colin Powell said once "everybody complains that we act like the world's cop. but guess who they call when somebody needs a policeman?"

you can't please everyone... somebody's always gonna get pissed.

 

[EI_Sparks]

Yeah, I'm going to listen to a man whose career starts with the attempted whitewashing of the My Lai massacre....

 

[Deadwood]

The US isn't the worlds police, they protect their own interests. If something unjust happens to a country the US won't care unless it falls under their interests. EG East Timor.

Real police should strive to "serve and protect" not only the rich but the poor and so on. Thus the US doesn't count for me as a police but as a protector of their own interests.

 

[Bells]

Originally posted by otheadp
Colin Powell said once "everybody complains that we act like the world's cop. but guess who they call when somebody needs a policeman?"

you can't please everyone... somebody's always gonna get pissed.

As Deadwood said, they only reply if they can get something in return. If they were like the police, then they'd be seen as corrupt cops.

 

[Undecided]

The premise is wrong...

The premise of this discussion is wrong, there has never been and never will be a moral power. Why? Because no nation is moral, that is a stark reality. Nations mostly do things out of their own interests. Some nations are really bad offenders, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, they are the top of the crop in terms of the power, and the least moral international nations. Notice that nations with more power, are less moral. Does power corrupt? Surely, but can the weak do anything about it? Not really. What do we define as this moral anyways? International law? Christian, Islamic, atheist values? Morals are only temporary, and subjective. Thus the answer cannot be found.

 

[hypewaders]

Communities develop laws to sustain themselves, and the community of nations is no exception. Although the international community remains in a "wild west" stage of development, international restrictions on rogue national behavior are operative today. The world clearly does not have a policeman, and will not unless and until there is unified world government. Unified world government will have to wait until a majority of governments sufficiently resemble one another as to be compatible. But that's another thread.

 

[Stokes Pennwalt]

Originally posted by Colin L. Powell
Everybody says that it's not America's job to be the world's policeman, but we're always the ones who get called when somebody needs a cop.

 

[hypewaders]

Who called?

 

[Bells]

LOL... well we know they definitely have caller ID since they don't always answer the call. Most times they just ignore it.