Are You an Ugly American?

Are you an Ugly American? 

Ugly American is a term which refers to worldwide perceptions of arrogant, demeaning, unthoughtful behavior of Americans abroad. The term comes from the title of a 1958 book by authors William Lederer and Eugene Burdick, The Ugly American.

I recently read on Facebook where someone was obviously frustrated by the debacle in which the US is currently involved – Libya. He wrote:

Rep. West [referring to some Congressman that was speaking] said that the missiles we shot off in Libya the other day [some time in mid March 2011] cost $567,000 each. They fired 1,200 of these. That means it cost us $680,400,000 for that little display of power. F**k that. I say we drop 1 bomb, an atomic one, right in the center of every one of these middle Eastern Hellholes and call it a day.

Now, I understand the frustration. He was reacting to the terrible, horrendous waste that the illegal Libyan war represents - that one instance apparently cost the American taxpayer $680 million (not to mention the cost of others of our wars – Iraq [officially $751Bn as of September 2010] and Afghanistan – [officially $336 Bn as of September 2010] see Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf ).

However, what I cannot understand is the willfully blind insensitivity that such a statement reflects.

This is not some video game. 

These people are really having their houses destroyed. 

These people are really having their children killed. 

These people are really suffering. 

These people are really dying. 

How about a little empathy? How about a little “putting-yourself-in-their-place” for a bit?

Almost 100% of these people are just like you or me – they have families, they have jobs, they have homes, they have their hopes and dreams. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and to do well. They have friends and fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters. Sure, they may live in a different culture and they may believe in a different religion. But who cares about that? Leave them alone and let them live their lives. If their government needs changing, let them do what they can to change it if they think it is worth the cost to do so.

The US has no business in Libya, and what is going on there amounts to war crimes.  

What are these scoundrels doing in our names?

Do some people justify this conflict because they say that the US needs oil?

If we need oil, we can buy it. No matter what it costs, it would still be a hell of a lot cheaper for everyone concerned than what it is costing us – both financially, materially, and in prestige – to carry on this unjustifiable and illegal war.

There is so much more going on in Libya that the Western media – the corporate-controlled propaganda mill – refuses to report. What about the 50,000 African mercenaries that the Israeli Mossad sent in to protect Ghaddafi's regime against the rebels? Is this true? Apparently it is open season on anyone in Libya who is black, and is thus suspected of being a mercenary. Is this true? If it is, why haven't we heard about it? I'll give you two guesses.

One thing for certain – truth is the first casualty of war. 

You can be sure that we are not being told the truth about what is going on. I think that what we are being told is calculated to have the precise effect that my friend experienced: frustration, anger and a descent into extremism.

As for the rest of us, let's remember that people are people, just like you or me. And we all deserve to be left alone to live our lives the way we choose. 

That's what we believe in America, isn't it?

Let's not be ugly Americans.