A Guatemalan nun once told me the following:
"You Americans are just living blindly inside the belly of the dragon.
"I used to hate you for all the destruction and suffering you've caused in every corner of the world.
"In Latin America alone, your government supported the torture and execution of thousands upon thousands of innocent people, carried out by military officials trained by the CIA and at the infamous School of the Americas in Georgia.
"But once I visited the U.S.," she continued, "I realized that most white Americans are blissfully ignorant of what their government perpetrates overseas, and even on people of color within their own borders. You live inside the belly of the dragon and die without ever seeing the damage the dragon inflicts on the outside world."
Information Clearing House article
"You Americans are just living blindly inside the belly of the dragon.
"I used to hate you for all the destruction and suffering you've caused in every corner of the world.
"In Latin America alone, your government supported the torture and execution of thousands upon thousands of innocent people, carried out by military officials trained by the CIA and at the infamous School of the Americas in Georgia.
"But once I visited the U.S.," she continued, "I realized that most white Americans are blissfully ignorant of what their government perpetrates overseas, and even on people of color within their own borders. You live inside the belly of the dragon and die without ever seeing the damage the dragon inflicts on the outside world."
I think "blissfully" is the operative word. If we were to educate ourselves about ourselves, we might become very unhappy. Worse, we might have to do something about it.
