kjkhoo at pro.SoftHome.net wrote:
>
> Can this asymmetry of
> thought be used as a definition of the imperial mind-set?
>
Yes. Absolutely. It takes years - decades - for an American to really feel the fundamental ill-intentions of the u.s. government and the u.s. ruling class. And with all my disagreements with Chomsky, I still believe him one of the most important persons now living simply because of his relentless driving of the point that the same standards should apply to u.s. actions as to the actions of any other state, with no allowance for alleged good intentions.
The genocidal aspects of the Vietnam War were intentional, part of the core strategy, not just lack of care. And Carter _knew_ that Bishop Romano would die if Carter ignored his letter. Carter, far more than the person who pulled the trigger, is guilty of that murder. The assumption _always_, even on the part of many who consider themselves leftists, is that the u.s. government is innocent until proven guilty. Any knowledge of the 20th century (beginning with the Spanish War and the Boxer Rebellion, and continuing with an absolutely unbroken chain of horrors, ought to convince anyone with an open mind that in foreign affairs the u.s. is guilty until proven innocent beyond any reasonable doubt. It's all there in Twain's "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." It's all there in the clear expectation on the part of McClure's editors that its readers would appreciate Kipling's poem. It's all there in the argument of some on this list last summer that we should depend on the u.s. government to get the electricity turned back on.
Carrol
> kj khoo
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