This article was sent to me by a friend, and i found it to be pretty spot on. I took this excerpt from the article for i think it identifies not only the foreign haters but i feel the domestic "haters" of the current form of america also suffer from this . In the end i know most americans who are so disgruntled with america will change their tune once "their guy/gal' get power for most anger rooted towards america by americans is politically motivated IMO. But will the foreign hate change? or is this going to go on for along time until america is brought to its knees?



Once again from the article:


America-bashing is anti-Americanism at its most radical and totalizing. Its goal is not to advise, but to condemn; not to fix, but to destroy. It repudiates every thought of reform in any normal sense; it sees no difference between American liberals and American conservatives; it views every American action, both present and past, as an act of deliberate oppression and systemic exploitation. It is not that America went wrong here or there; it is that it is wrong root and branch. The conviction at the heart of those who engage in it is really quite simple: that America is an unmitigated evil, an irredeemable enormity.

the link to the article: Hoover Institution - Policy Review - The Intellectual Origins of America-Bashing

I would imagine that probably something on the order of .0000002% of the world population engages in anti-Americanism to the degree to which that quote implies.

I don't thinlk the "foreign hate" will change, and I don't think America will be brought to her knees either.

I think that the .0000002% that hates America that much will continue to try to fly planes into our buildings (or fund, or train, or recruit, or organize those who do) - and that America will continue to light them up with Hellfires.

I think the vast majority of anti-Americanism is much more passive, and much less commited.

Robin Williams told a joke during one of his stand-up routines about how if American ever opened her borders the rest of the wold would become a ghost town in no time flat.

I believe that that's probably a more apt description of the general feeling toward America around the globe.

Obviously Williams takes it to an extreme; citizens of well established 1st world countries aren't going to come flooding to America just because the borders are open (although I'm sure many middle to lower class French and Germans would come looking for jobs), and he is making a joke after all.

But most of the anti-Americanism, I believe, stems from the same thing that intra-American hatred stems from - jealousy.

People want what we have here. They want security and a voice. They want to sleep in a home that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They want a decent and rewarding job. They want to be educated. They don't want to go to bed hungry at night.

The majority of the world has no idea what "American action, both present and past" has been and consequently have no opinion as to whether or not it was "an act of deliberate oppression and systemic exploitation".

They're infinately more concerned with where their next meal is coming from, whether there'll be work for them tomorrow, and about the deliberate oppression and systemic exploitation they suffer at the hands of their own government.

Radical Islam (state sponsored or otherwise) has capitalized on that disenfranchisement, apathy, and ignorance to a degree and engendered a strong and active hatred of America among very small populations.

If people are busy looking beyond their borders for the source of their woes then those in power within their borders are free to continue with the status quo.

Finally, "irredeemable enormity" - fantastic turn of a phrase.

__________________
...Old Europe, a once-dominant region now reduced to sucking at the geopolitical teat of America... they spent the better part of the last millennium conquering the world and taking the good stuff home with them... And what do they get for their troubles? Ungrateful colonies demanding their independence. And after you taught them how to play cricket!...

-Jon Stewart

The Hoover Institute!!!

The guys who blame FDR for the Great Depression!

another "only my news source " poster

its quite prominent on the left isnt it?

in the words of some of your illustrious ilk if you spent 1/10 th of the time listening to the opposition you might learn something , atleast that is what my "dad" said to me

With a title like that, I couldn't resist.

Pretty shallow pool for wading in though.

Apparently America-bashing is some Marxist-commie plot that began with 9/11, but apparently goes back to Marx and Engles and involves some shadowy emigres from Poland who nobody's heard of and involves lots of pseudo Marxist-critic theory stuff about "immiserization" and economic globalization.

This is pathetic stuff even judging by the standards of American rightwing 'think-tanks' doing hack jobs on Marxist theory. Do they honestly think that a bunch of hot-head Pakistanis hate America because of some obscure Marxist theory? Half the people who hate America the most can't fucking even read!

Btw, Hoover has to be the ugliest name in US political history. One of the all-time worst Presidents and a monster at the FBI.

Oh great, just what we need, another thread about this topic. Why wasn't this article posted in one of the other threads that already abound?

I agree. I think this kind of thread is duplicated all the time on political forums. But, having said that I'll toss my two cents in anyway.

As I think I said elsewhere, there is a HUGE difference between America "bashers" and America "critics" but too many people fail to make the distinction, opting for the more politically expedient "love it or leave it" mindset. IMO, this is too large a divide to conveniently put both groups in one basket.

Most of these alleged anti-American feelings are actually regarding the government and not the people of this country. Society is far too complex to take such a simplistic approach and ultimately creates even MORE division between the right and the left.

__________________
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

I think you're quite right on that point -in much the same way that people misconstrue criticisms of the war in Iraq as somehow being against the troops. It's all called "spin", and is used in partisan politics.

And on both sides too. The problem is we have become ingrained with an "us vs. them" mentality.

Like if one joker burns a flag because he hates Bush and/or the war in Iraq, EVERYBODY who criticizes Bush and/or the War is ALSO a flag-burner, or at least the next closest thing. It was the same during the Vietnam war. people from EVERY walk of life were against it, even a lot of WW2 and Korea vets who shed blood for this country. But it was a simple thing for some people to label them all as un-American. Many people on the far left do the same thing, only a mirror image of it. If you support the war you're a ruthless, heartless bastard.

It's FAR too complicated for that.

__________________
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

I totally agree with you. All too often politics has become a sport of generalisations. People on the Right generalise that all those on the left of politics are represented by people like Michael Moore, et.al, and people on the Left generalise that all those on the Right are represented by Fred Phelps, etc. Not every lefty who is against the war is a flag burner, and not every person on the Right carries a Bible. The same rationale applies to this site and to this thread. Some people might be critical of certain policies or actions of the US and its past and present administrations, but this is not meant to be a generalisation of all Americans. Heck, I'm far more critical of my own country and government than of anyone else's, and if US politics didn't fascinate me I wouldn't be a regular to the site. People need to be more accepting of differences of opinion and ideology rather than adopting the old "I have my opinion, and if your's is different then you must be wrong" approach.

I reckon it must be the season or something like that, Noahath!

Tethys

__________________
-- Harry S. Truman

interesting noahath you find the thread repetitious
yet post in more than the author of said thread

I think it might be the early primary season and we are all pretty much sick and tired of all the BS already. Maybe we just need to vent, because the TV doesn't listen.

__________________
Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

Yet if you were being less of a smart arse and actually bothered to read my posts, you'd see that I have not "bashed" the US at all; just the opposite in fact. What's interesting perhaps is why you created this thread in the first place?