In Defense of Americans

Am I anti-American? The Right seems to think so. When President Bush was making his case for war in Iraq, he went out of his way to make it clear that this war was being waged on Saddam Hussein and his regime, and not on the people of Iraq or the Arab and Islamic world. It's funny how he and his noise machine are unable to make the same distinctions regarding their critics.

Polls have been done around the world, including the Islamic world, that indicate that the U.S.A. is the country that is admired most. People admire the freedoms and democratic ideals of America. It is recognized that the American people are among the most generous on the planet, and their inventiveness and enterprise are universally praised. However, the flip side is the "meddling" foreign policy, which most people feel has been destructive. Given the track record, it's hard to disagree. Virtually every villain the U.S. has had to wrestle with in recent years has been someone they were responsible for building up. Over the years they have overthrown democratically elected leaders and replaced them with business-friendly dictators. To be sure, there have been successes too, like the Marshall Plan and reconstruction of Japan and Germany, but any objective study of history would make it difficult to describe American foreign policy as exclusively benevolent. After all, the U.S. is a superpower. Power corrupts, and superpower corrupts, um, superly? This has been going on for a long time, and can't be totally pinned on the current administration. Ugly things were happening in the Carter administration too. But instead of learning the lessons of the past, Bush and his PNAC puppetmasters are all too eager to press forward. And they fill the airwaves and printing presses with propaganda that if you are not with them you are against freedom and democracy. Still, most people are smart enough to distinguish the ideals of America and the people of America from the misguided policies of the American power elite. So-called anti-Americanism is nothing more than anti-American-Imperialism and anti-Bushism.

Canada has a worldwide reputation for being home to the most friendly and polite people on the planet. That reputation is not lost upon Canadians themselves, nay it is a point of pride. Now, I might risk being sentenced to deportation and forty lashes with a wet beaver tail for saying this, but I happen to believe this reputation to be apocryphal. It has been my experience that Americans are far more polite and friendly, particularly in the service industries. Work-related contacts in the U.S. have been much easier to deal with than their Canadian counterparts. And the friendliest folks reside in the Red States. These are the most hospitable and charitable people you'll find anywhere. And many of them voted for George W. Bush. I have no doubt that these folks are good people, who truly believe they stand for what's best for their country and that their leaders share their values, but they haven't been receiving the right information. I think it's up to all of us to ensure that the information gets out and is allowed to be heard. I guess that makes me a terrorist.