I've been noticing something over the past few years regarding the United States' expressed opinions on subjects vs the rest of the world. We're not allowed (as a nation in the world community) to express our wants and opinions as simple wants and opinions, nor to defend them!
It's our fault, I guess, for being the biggest kid on the block (by far) but letting everyone else have a say in running the block. If Great Britain (when "Great" really meant something) wanted a thing done, it went and DID it, and to heck with opinion! The same with other unopposed (or nearly so) superpowers in history. We're different. We want the rest of the world to weigh in on things, and we want to actually do what works for others as well as ourselves!
For that, whenever we try to defend our views and opinions, even when they are not binding on anyone, anywhere, we are declared evil bullies forcing our barbaric views on an enlightened world (read the adjectives in some of these articles).
Now I often disagree with US policies and opinions. I'd say that a serious majority of them are BS. What I've heard too often, though, are people claiming to be victims of our imperialism when we've done nothing more than express an opinion! Maybe we need a real old-style imperium to arise to remind the world what it's like? |
