The United States government needs to stop meddling in foreign affair matters, especially in matters of governance. As a country, we citizens feel that we are the supreme rulers of the world, and as such, we feel the need to spread our version of 'democracy' to others around the world. Sadly, the rest of the world does not see us as the benchmark and 'hero' of the world; in fact, the majority of the world views the United States and its citizens as greedy 'pigs' who look out only for our interests. Thus, the question begs, "What has led the rest of the world to think this way?" in fact, "why have America and her ideals been the ridicule and the butt of jokes in the international community?" The answer is simple: our foreign policy regarding the spread of democracy.
Since our revolution from England in 1776, we as a people have viewed democracy as the pinnacle of human civilization. According to the principles of democracy, the people have the ultimate say in what government should provide, and this magnificent promise has led us to force our way of life on others around the world. We feel that we must spread this ephemeral type of governance, lest the world fall into the hands of 'oppressors.' It is this mentality that has hurt our credibility in the world. Polls are clear about this. Yet we continually try to spread democracy to countries that already have established governments, and while in our opinion democracy may be the best form of governance, we refute all others and try to instill our form. This is the crux of the dilemma.
Other countries feel that we are impinging on their liberties, which ironically we are trying to preserve. For example, in the current state of Iraq, we are trying to instill the philosophies of democracy in a country where democracy will be difficult to defend. Iraq is a country consisting of different tribes who have historically detested one another. In this author's opinion, our form of democracy will be difficult to install in such a political atmosphere, let alone an environment where people are not used to our version of governance. Let them decide what government they want, and let us step back and watch.
The United States needs to realize that there are other countries in the world and each has its own culture. Before this country was ever established, there were already free markets and countries that thrived without the blessings of democracy. As a people, we need to stop being ethnocentric and realize that we are not alone in this world-there are other cultures and other types of governments besides democracy. We need to stop imprinting our version of democracy and become pragmatic in the ways we go about spreading the values of such a government.
America needs to take leadership in world affairs on issues such as global warming.
