I have to say I pity some Americans for their simple and ignorant minds. And when I say Americans, I’m talking about multi-generational Americans who have never left the comfort of their home, because most immigrant Americans know what happens beyond the borders. Oh, you poor, naive little soul, you. What? Somebody had to say it. Why not me? For the most part, Americans are so presumptuous and entitled. “Why do foreigners hate us?” they ask. “It’s Trump’s fault! He embarrassed us!” Oh, honey, people have hated Americans long before Trump’s presidency. Trump’s victory was of no surprise to anyone outside of North America in 2016. Equally, no one would have been surprised if Hillary Clinton had won instead. How narrow-minded are you to assume that things would get better, ever? I can’t tell whether to laugh or cry, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve said politics is a dirty game. But if dirty politics were a competition, the US would be in the lead. I mean, who bombs a country in the first 100 days of their presidency? Oh, right. The United States.

Yes, I’m generalizing, sue me. But to all my American friends who keep fighting for progressive domestic policy changes, don’t turn a blind eye to the atrocities your federal government does outside its borders. You all talk about how bad a person Trump is but will give George Bush a pass because he apologized in a book where he made a profit—shaking my head at you. You let a power-tripping narcissist get the better of you… twice. 

Last Thursday, President Biden ordered airstrikes in Syria in retaliation to the Iran-backed militia. Sound familiar? Of course, it does. Trump did the same thing. But Biden’s not a domestic racist, so it has to be ok, right? Man, I can’t even with Americans right now. Anyway, the Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, said it was “calculated” and “justified,” so there’s NOTHING to worry about. There were casualties – innocent lives lost – but all is fair in love and war, right? Besides, the worth of a Middle Eastern life doesn’t begin to equate to that of an American. I hope you recognize my being facetious. Long story short, Iran-backed militia threatened some American personnel in Iraq, and so President Biden’s administration ordered airstrikes in Syria to send a warning to said Iran-backed militia.

Does anyone else see where this all goes to shit, or is it just me? Am I the only one who sees that the only difference between a republican and democratic government is in their domestic policies, if at all? In four years, Black, Indigenous and immigrant lives still won’t matter to this putrid government. At some point, America will run out of money and need to declare war on a country to clear its debts. After all, they learned from the best: their British colonialist forefathers. Have I said too much? I know, I’m in a mood today. But what if the US decides to stop going to war? What would happen if they brought their troops back home and left the damn world alone? Let’s do my favourite thing, and paint a picture. 

My way or the highway

Since its independence, America has prided itself on being the land of the free (I’m going to try and be sincere) and marketed this idea of living the American dream. It was a promotional slogan to encourage select immigrants to choose the US and grow the country. Of course, the criteria have evolved since its independence, but if there was a money-back guarantee, I’m willing to bet the US would go broke. But I digress. This market strategy was meant to make capitalism more desirable and compete with other economic and political ideologies worldwide, and communism was the mortal enemy. However, attracting people to immigrate to the US and adopt their way of life, way of thinking, version of democracy, and economic model wasn’t enough; they needed to spread the word as their forefathers did in the name of Christianity. So, like colonial Britain, they travel the world first, masquerading as corporations, making deals, bribing and threatening officials. When that doesn’t work, they move to embargos, and eventually, if they desperately need a resource and want to show the world who’s boss, they declare war. One can argue that the US was building an empire, although they’ll never be Ottoman or Roman empire great.

America likes to convince its ignorant people that they go to war to help a country gain its freedom. Americans are so gaslit by their corrupt establishment; it’s depressing to watch. What if they pulled out, though (excuse the pun)? For example, what if America removed its military bases in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries? Our gaslighting narcissist government argues that the whole country would crumble without the support of Americans. They invite themselves guns blazing in a country, make things worse, rape and pillage the land and its people, and then exclaim, “Look what you made me do! Why did you make me so angry? Here, let me help you build democracy.” And like every other time, this western democracy fails because the shoe isn’t made to fit an un-American culture.

This idea that a country could not survive without the US is presumptuous, arrogant and typical behaviour of an abuser. In this scenario, America, being a bully and the abuser, reinforces this idea of victimhood and incapability among its captives. It should come as no surprise, considering the Democratic Party loves to support that same idea of victimhood on its people of colour. Oh, did you see what I just did there? Republicans are just as bad, but more in your face about it. So long as you feel incapable, weak, defenceless, and hopeless, America will have power over you to do as it pleases. The truth is that we are led to believe people who are not American can’t hold their own. However, if history has taught us anything, it’s that humans are resilient and can rebuild. Without Uncle Sam’s interference, it may be inevitable that things get worse, but at some point, one eventually rises from rock bottom. With Uncle Sam in the picture, a populous is immobile, chained and restricted, unable to change things for the better. In other words, America invading other countries is like crabs in a bucket, continuously pulling the people down, so they are unable to prosper. Where there’s no America, there’s a thriving, growing and prosperous country. 

Trust in the people

Do we have so little faith and trust in people that we need to look to the US, a country that’s just as broken and ugly as the next, to fix it all? It’s time we acknowledge that western democracy and western ways of living is not the only way to live. Yes, other governments are corrupt, broken and suck just as much, but you can’t fix this corruption by having another corrupt (foreign) government (the US) take its place! People are resilient; people are not as stupid as Americans may think. Americans look at the Middle East and shake their heads, not knowing that we’re the ones looking at your situation and shaking ours. If America stopped going to war – highly unlikely – my opinion is that the world would be a much better, healthier, wealthier, and safer place, all the while acknowledging that it may have to get worse before it got better. My unsolicited advice to the United States of America: butt the f* off and fix your country.

Reference

Image from: https://www.thoughtco.com/american-involvement-wars-colonial-times-present-4059761

News reference: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-airstrikes-syria-retaliating-against-iran-backed-militias-n1258912