>> But just because you deserve it doesn't mean we refuse to condemn it.
>
>Let's be careful with this "you" stuff. Residents of First World countries, even career dole recipients in Tasmania, enjoy incomes ten to twenty times that of the world's poor because of a global hierarchy enforced by the U.S. Canadians, Western Europeans, and Australians get to mount a high moral horse while still enjoying the material rewards of Empire.
Yeah, I should be grateful I suppose. But you know, the truth is I'm just not. Must be a character flaw. Thankfully, those rebellious peasants in the third world haven't heard of Tasmania, or realised that we are living off the fat of the "empire". We aren't stupid enough to go around rubbing their nose in it, you see. Instead, we keep a low profile and quickly mumble something about the "fucking yanks", whenever they get that wild look in their eyes.
It isn't because Americans are rich that they deserve it anyway, its because their government is democratically elected. Therefor, Americans are collectively responsible for everything it does. And ignorance of what it does is no excuse, in fact to most of us it isn't even plausible that Americans could be that ignorant. I know people like Chomsky like to push that line, but I think you'll find that its mainly for domestic consumption, he's simply pandering to his audience - "I don't have anything against the American people," he tells Americans, "only the American government." Whatever you say Noam.
Well, that may go down a treat in America, but the rest of the world isn't swallowing it.
You see, we aren't eligible to vote in elections to determine who the US government is. If the Japanese, Canadians, Western Europeans, and Australians were to get a vote in determining the US government, we'd have to accept responsibility for it.
No responsibility without representation. Call me an ingrate, but that's my attitude.
Even if we are responsible merely as a result of not being as ruthlessly exploited and oppressed, I think people have pretty much got it into their heads that Americans are the real problem. Sure, there might be the odd British and Australian warplane tagging along with the fleet, but everyone just assumes that these are only mascots. Or that we are conscripts. Neither of which is far from the truth.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas