berman@ihlpg.UUCP (Andy Berman) (06/28/85)
...utzoo!utcsri!garfield!markr writes: > The only people who see U.S.A. as the world's big brother are you americains. > You americans are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get >to your goals. > It is my belief that American stands for AROGANCE!!! ------------------------------------------------------- I thnk this kind of American baiting is self-defeating and foolish. While the frustration at the stupidities of the foreign policy of the US government and the crass national chauvenism of most US media is understandable, the failure to distinguish between the American people and their government is wrong. It only plays into the hands of those who whip up national chauvenism, and is particularly dangerous at times such as this current hostage crisis. It tends to solidify people behind the very knee-jerk nationalistic paranoia that, in calmer times, people tend to reject. Nicaraguans, Cubans, Vietnamese, those who have suffered the most from the military adventures of recent US Administrations, are among the most sophisticated in understanding the necessity for making the distinction between the American people and their government. There is tremendous appreciation in those nations and through-out the third world for the efforts of ordinary American citizens to oppose the policies of our government. You don't find there the kind of American baiting there that our friend from Canada is shouting aloud. If we Americans are ever to reverse the tragic and dangerous course of our government, it will come from pride, pride in the great struggles of our own history---from the Abolitionists to the Labor struggles to the Anti-War movements. Those who preach to us to reject ourselves, to reject our nation, offer disasterous advice. Andy Berman ihnp4!ihlpg!berman