American History Sutras.....

[Shuddhasattva]

Namaste

Good thread, I'd like to see it keep going to be that 'sutra.' One issue I'd like to raise is:

At what point does this no longer become an "American" history issue, but an international one? I mean there are many examples of internal nastiness, but what about the external nastiness that impacted, and continues to impact, the rest of the world in many unsavory ways?

On one hand, America has offered some support to other parts of the world in bad times, but I think on the whole, American intervention and "assistance" has been decidedly negative, to say nothing of the overriding and thinly-veiled imperialism permeating US Foreign Policy.

Here's one way to look at it:

The cold war set the world up like a chessboard, forcing smaller countries to align themselves with one pole or the other for economic and political survival.

As this war was, at its heart, an economic one, the frontline "soldier" in this war, on the American side, was the transnational corporation, working hand in hand with the State Department (and the CIA, for that matter, and the rest of their alphabet soup buddies) to secure resources for American consumption, or American benefit from the processing and sale thereof on the world markets, while simultaneously imposing the dominant economic ideology in conflict with communism. I hesitate to call this capitalism because it so far removed from the original vision of capitalism.

With the collapse of the Soviet bloc, America was very nearly able to "sweep the board," ushering in the era of globalization - even more consumption, even more exploitation.

To what extent does the American government, or better put in my opinion, 'control apparatus' that includes, but is not limited to the government, and certainly does not include the people in any meaningful sense, represent an obstacle to peace and economic prosperity for the rest of the world, and is America's externalization of its "nastiness" more or less as a direct result of the darker chapters in its own history?


Namaste

[Believer]

Namaste,

As I mentioned before, I started this thread not as a 'America bashing' thread, but ONLY to bring out some historical facts/situations which are neither taught in American history classes nor touched by the subservient press. If the members choose to extend it beyond that, instead of starting another thread tailored to their desired topics, so be it.

The leader of any country is sworn to protect and enhance the interests of his nation. For some reason, we Indians are too stuck up with the phoney morality talk and can't get it through our heads that national interest trumps everything else. All this talk about cold war and warm war and hot war is old wine in new jugs. It was being examined and dissected when it was happening, and again exhumed and examined by qualified coroners after the fact. We need to learn a lesson here about being assertive and looking out for our national interests, not piling $hit on America. The brilliant minds need to devise ways to counter the effects of globalization, if it is that bad, instead of pointing fingers at the sources of globalization. The question is not that others are working in their self interest; the question is how is India protecting its sovereign interests. Finger pointing or asking for pity or indulging in self pity is a defeatist attitude, not worthy of a proud, hard working nation, that India is. And with that, I will get off my soap box.

Pranam.

[Jainarayan]

Namaste.

Sometimes a nation needs a "time out" from world affairs and needs to turn inward to better its situation; to pull itself up by its bootstraps. Russia, for one, needs to kick itself in the a$$.

The challenge is for a nation to realize that and start effecting some change. How? I don't even pretend to know. It's just an observation, as I'm sitting in my cubicle doing nothing but growing older.