From a Position of Equality
Posted on
Friday, December 22, 2006
by Gary A. Ballard
The world is changing. Though this statement is a verifiable fact, absolute truth from which there can be no evasion, many of the politicians and diplomats in charge of plotting the United States' course for the future refuse to accept this. It starts with our very own delusional President but quickly works its way like a virus through the Vice-Presidency, most of the Cabinet, into the State Department and the Pentagon and filters down even into the offices of the UN ambassadorial staff most recently vacated by John "The Walrus" Bolton. It is a founding principle of the ridiculously myopic nationalist Neocon movement. The refusal takes the form of policy and policy, whether it be diplomatic, domestic, economic, or military is all predicated on one principle. It is the principle of American Superiority, and it is wrong.
In the years after World War II, the doctrine of American Superiority was one which had some merit. I don't want to pretend that the US was in anyway morally superior to other countries, but the driving belief behind our efforts in the Cold War was that America was stronger than other countries. We were stronger militarily, we were stronger economically and as a result, our interests overrode all others. We could afford that God viewing the ants perspective, because in all the measures that counted other than morality, the U.S. truly was that much more powerful than other nations. Though the Soviet Union certainly provided a strong counter-balance to the potential American hegemony, it was a strength built on shaky ground. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, it would have been hard for the likes of Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bushie Jr. to see the U.S. as anything other than superior to other nations, at least not without a humility the office does not often reward.
But thanks not only to the Shrub's last disastrous six years, but also to the changing nature of the world, America can no longer stand in a position of strength. We can no longer claim American Superiority. We certainly cannot take the moral high ground. After all, we invaded a sovereign nation on false pretenses, ostensibly to remove one man from power, a leader who had not made any real aggressive action against any country since he was bottled up after the invasion of Kuwait. Militarily we appear very weak, considering we can't even quell violence in Iraq and the supposedly-defeated Taliban have come back almost as strong as before in Afghanistan. Granted, those failures have as much to do with our military's lack of training fighting asymmetrical wars as it does with an arrogant policy steeped in American Smugness. But the truth remains for all to see, the American military is not invincible, and is currently stretched to the breaking point fighting a pair of insurgencies. Militarily, the U.S. has no flexibility, no ability to switch targets were the need required. North Korea gets a gleeful kick out of this fact, as do the Taliban.
Where American Superiority has triumphed so much in the past, the economic realm, we have fallen dangerously behind the rest of the world. Our government's debt is propped up by nations such as China. The irony of a Communist power, only four decades removed from being a bitter enemy, propping up the uncontrollable spending of a Capitalist power is so sour as to be vomit-inducing. Even more ironic is how much the supposed "Champion of Freedom and Democracy" has ignored in terms of oppression and human rights abuses by China in order to keep Chinese banks flush with American currency, and to open Chinese markets to U.S. businesses who see our own markets as stagnant. We are rapidly approaching a crisis in this country, with manufacturing jobs gone perhaps forever to countries like China and with no industry sector coming behind manufacturing to provide Americans with new careers. We can't even keep our borders secure from illegal immigration, mainly because our own corporations are too busy employing illegals for slave labor wages instead of paying Americans minimum wage to do the work.
But our biggest failing as a Superior Power is in the realm of nuclear strength. For decades, in the Cold War and in the aftermath, no one could fuck with the United States for fear of nuclear annihilation. The only powers with nuclear capabilites were the U.S. allies or their largest enemies, and those enemies had too much to lose to fire off their own nuclear arsenal. There was an equilibrium in the world, with the balance tipping in favor of the U.S. just on sheer destructive potential. Those without nukes could either negotiate from a position of weakness or be isolated. These days, the list of nuclear powers grows yearly. Even the potential for gaining nuclear weapons in some distant and unverifiable future, such as with Iran, has rendered the typical U.S. position of strength into one of grudging equality. The U.S. can no longer be a bully, it must deal with these nations on equal footing.
For all the American idealism inherent in the statement all men are created equal, Americans in the 21st century do not deal well from a position of equality. To quote Seinfeld, we have no hand. We have become used to the world being forced to come to our doorstep, hat in hand. It's amazing how benevolent a nation can be from that position, as well as how arrogant. Now that arrogance is coming back to bite us in the ass. North Korea can ignore us. Iran can ignore us. What are we going to do, invade? We can't, because we are no longer superior. We are no longer infallible. The illusion has been broken. The American Superiority is a myth, debunked and defrocked.
It's time America began acting as an equal to the rest of the world, instead of a snob. We'll all be better off should that happen. And if it shouldn't, the trash pile of history is waiting.
In the years after World War II, the doctrine of American Superiority was one which had some merit. I don't want to pretend that the US was in anyway morally superior to other countries, but the driving belief behind our efforts in the Cold War was that America was stronger than other countries. We were stronger militarily, we were stronger economically and as a result, our interests overrode all others. We could afford that God viewing the ants perspective, because in all the measures that counted other than morality, the U.S. truly was that much more powerful than other nations. Though the Soviet Union certainly provided a strong counter-balance to the potential American hegemony, it was a strength built on shaky ground. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, it would have been hard for the likes of Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bushie Jr. to see the U.S. as anything other than superior to other nations, at least not without a humility the office does not often reward.
But thanks not only to the Shrub's last disastrous six years, but also to the changing nature of the world, America can no longer stand in a position of strength. We can no longer claim American Superiority. We certainly cannot take the moral high ground. After all, we invaded a sovereign nation on false pretenses, ostensibly to remove one man from power, a leader who had not made any real aggressive action against any country since he was bottled up after the invasion of Kuwait. Militarily we appear very weak, considering we can't even quell violence in Iraq and the supposedly-defeated Taliban have come back almost as strong as before in Afghanistan. Granted, those failures have as much to do with our military's lack of training fighting asymmetrical wars as it does with an arrogant policy steeped in American Smugness. But the truth remains for all to see, the American military is not invincible, and is currently stretched to the breaking point fighting a pair of insurgencies. Militarily, the U.S. has no flexibility, no ability to switch targets were the need required. North Korea gets a gleeful kick out of this fact, as do the Taliban.
Where American Superiority has triumphed so much in the past, the economic realm, we have fallen dangerously behind the rest of the world. Our government's debt is propped up by nations such as China. The irony of a Communist power, only four decades removed from being a bitter enemy, propping up the uncontrollable spending of a Capitalist power is so sour as to be vomit-inducing. Even more ironic is how much the supposed "Champion of Freedom and Democracy" has ignored in terms of oppression and human rights abuses by China in order to keep Chinese banks flush with American currency, and to open Chinese markets to U.S. businesses who see our own markets as stagnant. We are rapidly approaching a crisis in this country, with manufacturing jobs gone perhaps forever to countries like China and with no industry sector coming behind manufacturing to provide Americans with new careers. We can't even keep our borders secure from illegal immigration, mainly because our own corporations are too busy employing illegals for slave labor wages instead of paying Americans minimum wage to do the work.
But our biggest failing as a Superior Power is in the realm of nuclear strength. For decades, in the Cold War and in the aftermath, no one could fuck with the United States for fear of nuclear annihilation. The only powers with nuclear capabilites were the U.S. allies or their largest enemies, and those enemies had too much to lose to fire off their own nuclear arsenal. There was an equilibrium in the world, with the balance tipping in favor of the U.S. just on sheer destructive potential. Those without nukes could either negotiate from a position of weakness or be isolated. These days, the list of nuclear powers grows yearly. Even the potential for gaining nuclear weapons in some distant and unverifiable future, such as with Iran, has rendered the typical U.S. position of strength into one of grudging equality. The U.S. can no longer be a bully, it must deal with these nations on equal footing.
For all the American idealism inherent in the statement all men are created equal, Americans in the 21st century do not deal well from a position of equality. To quote Seinfeld, we have no hand. We have become used to the world being forced to come to our doorstep, hat in hand. It's amazing how benevolent a nation can be from that position, as well as how arrogant. Now that arrogance is coming back to bite us in the ass. North Korea can ignore us. Iran can ignore us. What are we going to do, invade? We can't, because we are no longer superior. We are no longer infallible. The illusion has been broken. The American Superiority is a myth, debunked and defrocked.
It's time America began acting as an equal to the rest of the world, instead of a snob. We'll all be better off should that happen. And if it shouldn't, the trash pile of history is waiting.
Labels: Bush Administration, Politics
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 10:29 AM
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