Friday, October 4, 2013
America: Stop Fighting and Fix your Roads, your Schools, Your Cities
by Tom Kando
I was in Europe when the latest phase of the Syrian crisis broke out. As everyone knows, Assad used chemical weapons which killed nearly 1500 civilians. Thereupon, President Obama announced that a “red line” had been crossed and that this required a new American bombing campaign.
Although I was on the other side of the world and entirely out of touch with American public opinion, my reaction was knee-jerk and immediate: President Obama, please don’t do it!
That the overwhelming majority of Europeans around me were adamantly opposed to bombing, was a predictable no-brainer. More surprising was the fact that the vast majority of Americans were also opposed to another military adventure.
I won’t list the reasons why the US should not become involved in another military campaign. They are too numerous and too obvious. The issue is not just Syria.
The issue is American foreign policy in general. The issue is America, period. Having just returned from countries with superb infrastructure, with little poverty, with excellent public services, I see more clearly than ever how exhausted and impoverished America has become. This country has depleted itself by fighting wars practically non-stop since 1942, by stationing forces in 120 countries, by spending trillions in military assistance to over 100 countries.
And for what?
In return for being the world’s cop, America has earned the hatred of half the world and the contempt of the other half.
The criticism has been largely moral, but my take is more pragmatic. True, America and its proxies have killed untold numbers of people.
However, the tired old “military-industrial-complex-imperialist-merchants-of-death-for-profit” theory is just that - tired, old and at least 65% false. All that fighting by America has often been unprofitable, and motivated by ideology (often ill-conceived ideology) rather than by imperialist greed. The best thing that can be said about it is that there was some sort of world order, and that someone had to step up to the plate to somehow maintain it. Pax Americana.
But this is no longer sustainable. The country has become too weak and too poor. I just spent a month in countries where people live longer, healthier, richer and happier lives. They are the beneficiaries of the world order. China, too, is laughing all the way to the bank while taking potshots and not raising a finger to help.
In Holland, I saw neat newly reclaimed lands, pristine animal reservations, modern wind farms in the middle of the North Sea, impeccable underground and aerial freeway systems, bullet trains, vast clean and busy airports, state-of-the-art hospitals. Their medical, educational, retirement, disability and unemployment benefits remain far more generous than ours. Dutch life expectancy beats ours by nearly three years.
As Bill Maher wrote in RSN on September 28:
American conservatives “can mock ‘European style democracies’ all they want, (but) when Americans come back from a vacation in Europe they all say the same thing: ‘Wow, you can see titties on the beach!’(And) they also remark on the clean air, the modern, first-world infrastructure, the functioning social safety net, and bread that doesn't taste like powdered glue. And they wonder, ‘Why can't we get that here?’ Unless they're Republicans, in which case they wonder, ‘How can people live like that?’ .”
Meanwhile, American pundits continue to editorialize that Obama must bomb Syria, so as to save face and prestige.... Do Dutch and German editorialists worry about losing face? Screw prestige. Screw the “superpower, blah blah.” What if Iran finally gets nukes? Is that worth a war? North Korea has nukes. Pakistan has nukes. Live with it. Should we go to war in Somalia too, and in Sudan, and Yemen, and the Philippines, and the dozens of other places where bad guys do bad things?
In a messy and unpredictable way, this Syrian crisis has turned out very well for Obama so far. Thank you, Mr. Putin. Whatever gyrations the President took, he is okay for now.
So, America: fix your roads, your schools, your cities. Help your millions of poor and unemployed. Eat better and enjoy life more. Re-industrialize. Get a life, a better life. Take care of yourself and stop fighting. leave comment here
5 comments:
Great paragraph from Professor Tom Kando "However, the tired old “military-industrial-complex-imperialist-merchants-of-death-for-profit” theory is just that - tired, old and at least 65% false. All that fighting by America has often been unprofitable, and motivated by ideology (often ill-conceived ideology) rather than by imperialist greed. The best thing that can be said about it is that there was some sort of world order, and that someone had to step up to the plate to somehow maintain it. Pax Americana"
You are correct and it's so obvious. And yet, this nation seems to be sleep walking towards disaster. Or, I should say running.
Tom a little bit of context is missing. It is mixing apples with oranges to contrast America with European democracies, given the huge minority base in America, and the attendant problems; that, unlike America, these other nations spend little on defense, with the risk that if the bad boy powers of the world ever decided to attack, these nations would have no defense. As far as the third world counties, it has been almost exclusively America that has provided aid, rather than these self-righteous European countries you mention. It is also curious to me that if these European countries are so desirable, why aren't Americans by the droves seeking to live there? Would you find it likely that these countries would welcome millions of newcomers to their lands? And, more money for public education? Regardless of the propaganda from the NEA, over the past 20 years teacher salaries and benefits have risen dramatically, even when adjusted for inflation and the cost of living. Yet, student test scores are in the toilet. That's why, when given the option, parents choose private schools.
I thank Roy, Anonymous and Carol for their comments.
About people’s reactions:
This time, I got several requests to “unsubscribe,” some of them shrill. This happens whenever I post something negative. A few weeks ago, I got an “unsubscribe” request from the editor-in-chief of a local Sacramento newspaper, accusing the blog of being racist and stupid, a conclusion to which one can only arrive if one does NOT read our posts. I have also received (veiled) threats. This comes with the territory. I must be touching nerves.
Of all the reactions, I value none more than the classy and well-argued disagreements I get from people like “anonymous,” above. It’s good to know that there are some gentlemen left in the world.
Let me try to explain myself to “Anonymous:”
I realize that some of my posts are negative and bordering on anti-American.
That is not my intention. I love this country, which is mine by choice rather than by birth. When I harp on America’s problems, it is because I wish it to behave more selfishly. I want America to take care of ITSELF, finally.
Note also, as Roy does, that in my post, I do not condemn American overseas meddling on moral grounds, but on pragmatic grounds.
Anonymous talks about (1) America’s exceptionally large minority base, (2) the fact that few Americans move to Europe, (3) American foreign aid and (4) the Europeans’ free ride on military defense.
(1): the difference between the two continents is dwindling fast. Anyone who has been in London, Paris, Amsterdam or any other European city can see the enormous increase in Third World and Eastern European populations over there. I was in Liege last year, and I was flabbergasted: There were practically no Belgians left in that city. The overwhelming majority of the people where from the Third World.
(2) True. However, it is also true that few Europeans move to America any more. When I moved here at age eighteen, this country’s attraction even to Northern Europeans was unquestionable.
That advantage no longer exists. Immigration to the US is now overwhelmingly from the Third World. That said, I find it wonderful that America still remains a magnet for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, wherever from. One of this country’s truly bright spots.
(3) During the first few decades after World War Two, America spent staggering amounts to help the rest of the world (including its defeated enemies and the rest of Europe). But for many decades now, the US has been spending a much smaller percentage of its GDP on foreign aid than do many European countries.
(4): precisely my point! America must somehow stop doing all the heavy lifting for everyone else.
If America did not sacrifice its manpower and wealth protecting countries like Holland, France and all the rest of them we could have better infrastructure too. You might be speaking German without our aid. Of course you will not like that attitude but history is full of examples of the USA protecting the indefensible small countries.
Post a Comment
Please limit your comment to 300 words at the most!