(no subject)

[danuv]

I am getting tired of reading posts about how we as Americans are in some way responsible for what happened. I've never been a massively patriotic person... in fact I have had a rather jaded opinion of my country. However since this has happened I've heard so much anti-America sentiment. Yes, as a country we have done some horrible horrible things. I don't think we should ever forget or deny that. However, we are the most powerful country in the world. I don't think that most people think about what that means. It is so easy to see things in black and white... choices are either right or wrong. The older I get the more I see in grey. World politics is a very complicated thing. Seems to me that no matter what we do or do not do we will be demonized by the world at large because of our size and power. What country is pure and blameless? Who can stand up under scrutiny?
The United States has done evil things, but we are also a country that rushes to the aid of so many others. We have given so much aid both from our government and from private charities. There are United States aid workers in many many other countries right now toiling away to make things better for those who were born with less. *sigh* It makes me sad that people feel the need to be so critical of the U.S. right now. Wait a little while at least.

Comments

[lorigami.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. I can only speak for myself here, and how I have been feeling, but the events of the past few days have turned up a lot of stuff that would have made me sick by itself at the time that it happened, had I known about it then. Wayne said last night that he thinks I just got hit with a lot of horrible stuff all at once, and overloaded. It's really hard not to see these things and get really outraged. I know we as a country do a lot of wonderful things for others, but I'm starting to see how much we contradict ourselves as well, (see my last entry about our funding the Taliban, for example). I'm not sure what to do with all this information yet. The best I can do right now is quote what someone else said on mailing list I'm on. "People say if you don't like your government, then move. I care enough about this country to want to make it a place I *want* to live in". I hope that made sense.
How is your family doing? I can't even begin to imagine how to talk to a kid about all this, I guess it's a very good thing that yours are so young. Still. *sigh*

[danuv.livejournal.com]

It's our country we should change what we don't like rather than abandon it.
The family is ok. I am so so glad they are too young to understand anything. It's strange to think that we grew up fearing nuclear war, my younger brother (8 years) grew up not afraid of anything really and now mine will have to grow up in the shadow of this. I really hope things are more secure for them before they are old enough to be scared of it.