A History Lesson

I have often been offended when I hear foreigners refer to the United States as "The Evil Empire." Having worked with many H1-B Visa holders, however, I have had the opportunity to remove my rose-colored glasses as I listen to their reasoning for making such comments. Inevitably, I have been at a loss (mostly due to the lack in my formal education of learning small details which are omitted from history courses) to rebut.

The first such "re-education" occurred when I was a young college student. I learned of how the Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by the Cherokee Nation in the 19th century. The basis of the case was that, because of nation-to-nation status between the U.S. and the Cherokee Nation, certain land disputes between the Cherokee Nation and the state of Georgia were null and void, based on treaties signed between the two nations. Legal scholars acknowledge that, had the Supreme Court taken the case, most of the land belonging to what we now know as the state of Georgia would have been returned to the Cherokee Nation.

I recall how I had felt when I learned of this injustice. Lady Liberty suddenly appeared tilted; indeed, the scales of justice -- in my mind -- were certainly not based on an equal balance.

I remember watching a show on t.v. when I was 15; it was the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. The topic was the martial law that had been imposed by President Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. The guest was from the Philippines and was using this late-night forum to try to bring to the attention of the American public the role that our government had in bringing that tyrant to power in her country and helping to establish his dictatorship (even though he retained the title of "President").

That scenario very much resembles the the current U.S. support of the dictator of Pakistan today. So-called "President" Musharraf has never been elected as President of Pakistan. He was a general in his country's army when he overthrew the democratically-elected government of that nation. The use of the title "president" obscures the fact that he is, indeed, an American-backed dictator.

Our problems with Iran today are very much a result of the U.S. having installed a dictator over the Iranian people in the 1950's: The Shah (i.e., dictator) of Iran was put into power by the U.S. government. The radical government of Iran is a direct result of the revolution of the late 1970's when the people overthrew the dictatorship and, as history demonstrates time and again in similar revolutions, chose an extreme form of government.

I am often reminded of how ignorant we are, as Americans, of the reasons why our human neighbors on this planet hold us in contempt. The historical record rings loudly and clearly. And we are seen as hypocrites when we speak of establishing democracy in the middle east, while we try to ignore the dictatorships for which we are directly responsible.

If we just highlight incidents of the past 50 years or so, we see the long trail of sorrow which we, our fathers and grandfathers have left:

1953 - Iranian coup d'état
1954 - Guatemalan coup d'état, which crushed a democratic government
1961 - Bay of Pigs fiasco, Cuba
1962 - Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, etc.)
1972 - The Philippines - Ferdinand Marcos, with assistance of the U.S., declared martial law
1973 - Chilean coup d'état
1983 - President Reagan referred to the Dictator of Zaire as "a voice of good sense and goodwill"; the U.S. supported this dictator on-and-off for more than 3 decades
1990's - Supported warlords in Somalia
2002 - Afghanistan
2003 - Iraq
2005 - Darfur, Sudan

The U.S. government has supported Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Indonesia, despite their poor human rights records.

These are the issues. These are the results of our own historical irresponsibility. When World War III -- to which President Bush recently alluded -- does arrive... we are truly out-numbered by those whom we have wronged (who are mostly aligned with China and Russia). I hope that our future enemies act kinder and more compassioinate with our children and grandchildren than we were with their parents and grandparents.