[lit-ideas] Re: THE IRANIANS ARE COMING! THE IRANIANS ARE COMING!

>We are NOT the GOOD GUYS, guys, we're just GUYS.
  ck: I beg to quibble, but a quibble, at the least, is seriously due here. 
Although I fear that the US's ethical ideals are eroding under Bush, we still 
have recent national memories of what we thought we were. And we, as a nation, 
still seem capable of being stunned when it's revealed that we commit 
atrocities, that we commit torture--and that some of us in power aren't 
appalled still appals us. As long as we react with horror to our own 
government's doings (and the corporate governments sponsoring our 
government--unacceptable in Americans' minds), we show ourselves to be 
"better." We hope we're better. We strive to be better. The tragedy of the Bush 
administration, for America, is that we lose a piece of our betterness hourly.

   But don't compare the US to such enlightened states as tiny Denmark, when 
evaluating how we're doing. Look instead to gigantic states with huge 
populations--places like China, Russia (or USSR), Central  American countries. 
Hell, look at Mexico. The degree of OBVIOUS corruption and misery in Mexico, 
compared to either California or Texas, is so much higher than right over the 
border, it's terrifying. I'd take living in the US over Mexico any ol' day. 
While I might get carjacked and even murdered in Fresno, in Mexico it's the 
cops who carjacked me, then demanded ransom. 

  I suggest you get around a little more, and see for yourself how things are, 
how they feel when you're there. It's essential to continue criticizing the 
US--harder than we've been doing--to ensure that this nation doesn't become an 
uninhabitable nightmare. For other countries, as you imply, the US is already 
over that line, unfortunately.

  Don't misunderstand me: I don't mean to defend the US's inhumane, 
hypocritical, and seriously dangerous policies. But to not see that the US has 
a foundation that's better than its sometimes rotten, stupid policies would be 
a short-sighted mistake. 

  Carol

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