In November of this year, Americans will elect a President and a Congress to govern their nation for the next four years. In so doing they not only elect the people who govern America, but they also elect a President who wields enormous influence over the future development and direction of the rest of the world. In the contemporary world of globalization and economic integration, the decisions by the US president affect virtually all the people of our planet, yet only Americans have a say in who that president will be.
...Besides the use of military force abroad, the US uses aggressive economic strategies to force countries to adopt the 'free market' policies of the USA, whether they like it or not. Those governments who do not comply and who oppose such policies as not being in the best interests of their people are threatened with embargoes, boycotts and other forms of retaliation, including the undermining and overthrow of democratically elected governments (e.g. Chile, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti). Is it any wonder then that under these circumstances the popularity of America in the world has diminished to what today is likely its lowest level ever?
My country, Canada, shares a 5000 mile long border with the USA. We are neighbors who (mostly) speak the same language, share a similar culture and have a huge cross-border trade. Many people have family and relatives living on either side of the border. Yet the number of Canadians who today support the aggressive US foreign policies of George W. Bush has fallen to about 15% of the population. The same pattern holds true for Europe and most other countries that traditionally have friendly relations with the USA.
Today, there is virtually no country in the world whose government does not look over its shoulder to see if its policies are approved or disapproved of by the United States. In effect, we, the people outside the USA who elect our own governments to govern us, are subjected to another lands' president to ensure that what we are doing is acceptable to him. We are subjected to the power and influence of a President we did not elect and cannot vote for.
Sometimes we get the impression that Americans don't care about this.
VHeadline article
...Besides the use of military force abroad, the US uses aggressive economic strategies to force countries to adopt the 'free market' policies of the USA, whether they like it or not. Those governments who do not comply and who oppose such policies as not being in the best interests of their people are threatened with embargoes, boycotts and other forms of retaliation, including the undermining and overthrow of democratically elected governments (e.g. Chile, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti). Is it any wonder then that under these circumstances the popularity of America in the world has diminished to what today is likely its lowest level ever?
My country, Canada, shares a 5000 mile long border with the USA. We are neighbors who (mostly) speak the same language, share a similar culture and have a huge cross-border trade. Many people have family and relatives living on either side of the border. Yet the number of Canadians who today support the aggressive US foreign policies of George W. Bush has fallen to about 15% of the population. The same pattern holds true for Europe and most other countries that traditionally have friendly relations with the USA.
Today, there is virtually no country in the world whose government does not look over its shoulder to see if its policies are approved or disapproved of by the United States. In effect, we, the people outside the USA who elect our own governments to govern us, are subjected to another lands' president to ensure that what we are doing is acceptable to him. We are subjected to the power and influence of a President we did not elect and cannot vote for.
Sometimes we get the impression that Americans don't care about this.
I would say that impression is accurate if one equates not caring with not giving it a thought.
It's an interesting point, and one that should not be taken too lightly. Is this right? Is it good for the world? Is it good for Americans? And if the answers are "no", then what is to be done about it?
....do what you want....you will anyway.
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