Posted on 10/24/2001 6:50:14 AM PDT by Macaw
Many people, especially broadcast journalists, keep asking the question: "Why do so many people around the world hate us (Americans?) A closer look at that question, and sometimes who's asking it, would reveal some very telling answers. Here's what I mean. There are few peoples of the world who do not admire America and what she has been able to accomplish in such a short time (since 1776.) Most people marvel at the freedoms enjoyed in the United States and they desire similar freedoms in their own lands. But, when citizens from other nations speak out against the U.S. War on Terror, they are more than likely speaking out against the evils of war. They have experienced war on their soil from foreign invaders and have seen innocent lives killed or permanently disfigured. They abhor the absence of peaceful initiatives to bring resolution to conflicts. Citizens of war torn countries know how miserable life can be when your quality of life vanishes. Also, many of these people either remember, or were taught in their schools, that America is the only country in history to drop an atomic bomb on a nation that killed hundreds of thousands of innocents. No one dares to want to see that again. They are also taught in school about America's brutal slavery past. When people around the world protest the American war, they sometimes are confused by the mixed signals beaming from the States. They think it is unfair to Powell, who is a member of the racial group with whom the United States refuses to reconcile its past, to be used the way he has been. His responsibilities and role as secretary of state have been usurped by the defense secretary. People of the world view the U.S. Government's current treatment of those same citizens as oppressive. The hypocrisy is blatantly obvious to peoples all over the world. Finally, lets look at who is asking the question. To illustrate, consider the following: the United States' American Bar Association, who once disallowed black attorneys membership, says blacks do not receive fair hearings in American courts at any level. While most countries of the world have abolished the death penalty, the U.S. is one of but a few countries who steadfastly cling to it. While governor of a state, the current president oversaw in excess of 145 executions in five years. In other words, the world's anger at America is not directed toward its black citizens. You see, they know the blacks are not allowed any meaningful and controlling authority over neither foreign and domestic policies in the U.S., nor over their own lives, so they can't truly be blamed for anything America, herself, has done abroad. Jeffrey Savage is a talk show host and a former county commissioner (1992-2000) from Greenville, NC (USA). He holds a BA in International Relations from Shaw University in Raleigh, NC.
Don't be so sure about that...
They think it is unfair to Powell, who is a member of the racial group with whom the United States refuses to reconcile its past, to be used the way he has been. His responsibilities and role as secretary of state have been usurped by the defense secretary.
Say what? I see someone has been drinking a bit too much of the Kool-Aid! These people really need to get over themselves. The foreign world of bin Laden supporters who hate us see absolutely no difference between white or black Americans. To them an American is an American - regardless of race. These bin Laden terrorist freaks will just as quickly kill a black American as they will a white American.
Why oh WHY must certain people ALWAYS turn around and make everything about them? The bottom line is this: they hate AMERICA and AMERICANS and they could care less about the color of anyone's American skin. To them the color of our skin is one thing - AMERICAN - and that is reason enough for them to hate us all.
The attacks of Sept. 11th served as a wake-up shout to a fractured and divided America because they cut across all races, genders, sexual preferences, and religions. For the first time in my (short) life, I've seen America united as never before.
People like Savage are, at best, consigned to be a forgotten footnote to history. They know it, and they can't do anything about it, so their only recourse is to rail at the system.
As an aside, I watched CNN do a canonization of GWB this weekend. Never thought I'd see THAT happen. Not often you can watch the entire country change overnight.
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