I'm starting to get a little concerned... I understand that in the real world, when it comes to realpolitik, no country is perfect, and especially that applies to powerful countries with powerful military might.
There are clandestine operations, dealing with unsavory characters, being selective when it comes to the rule of law, or "democratic principles," international conventions, etc.
For decades the United States has been responsible for overthrowing scores of governments, many of them democratically-elected, in favor of brutal dictators as long as they aligned with our interests.
We are responsible for spreading weapons of war across the entire globe. We are directly responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Latin America, in the Middle East, in Asia.
Well, I shouldn't use "we" since these things have mainly been done by the permanent corporate regime through the CIA, our military.
However, there's always been some sort of an "illusion," a type of looking-the-other-way understanding in the world that although the U.S. wasn't perfect, at least it tried to do some good, to maintain some type of global order through the strength of our military, and diplomacy.
But a couple of very significant things (new things) have happened recently. One of the of course are the revelations about the NSA spying at a global level.
Another one is the almost-unprecedented bungling of the current administration in trying to sell (what appeared to be) a bogus war under false pretenses.
And the final one, and probably the most damaging is this country's hubris and self-aggrandizing when public officials talk about "American exceptionalism,' and when administration officials talk about the impossibility of any country even thinking about retaliating against us, even if we engage in an unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against another country. And when they go before the world and make pronouncements about our "democratic" values, and respect for the rule of law, and our responsibility to aid those being brutalized, and engage in astonishingly inept myth-making.
When you put all this together we're starting to look like a dumb giant, like a craven and delusional regime.
I argue that the main reason things have gotten to this absurd level is because the corporatist influence-peddling corruption in our entire system of government has reached unprecedented levels, and that is being reflected in our rapid loss of prestige, of image.
And that puts us, the citizens of this country, in danger...
Unfortunately, this hubris is also enabled by the fact that in our provincial minds, we do see ourselves as not only "exceptional," but invincible.
I've done a lot of travel (hundreds of thousands of miles) to many different countries, and during those travels, I did everything I could to understand the people of those countries, their cultures, their way of thinking.
At least to me, traveling that much has taught me that both, the the idea of exceptionalism, and invincibility are supported by myth, and as long as much of the world goes along with that myth, we'll be okay.
But I'm afraid that that myth is losing its luster, and much of that has to do with the almost-delusional and totally inept pronouncements and grandstanding by public officials. And is losing its luster once the world found out about the massive illegal spying.
When I think about all these things, something comes to mind: Why would not a group of countries align forces, interests, with the idea of taking on the United States, which is perceived as a bumbling bully in the international stage?
I don't know, maybe most people would disagree with this, but I think that the corporate mentality that dominates our entire government is actually putting us in grave danger.
The grandiose and delusional speeches (full of lies and half-truths); the double-speak and hypocrisy; the ease with which we talk about "limited strikes," and "no one would ever dare to retaliate," that whole thing gives me the creeps.
The ineptitude of it all is truly astonishing. Hell, if we are going to be a fucking empire, and we're going to kick some serious ass, I'd rather be done by real government-type men and women, by true public servants, rather than by corporatist hucksters.
But that's just me... Maybe others see it in a different light.