Oh wow, thanks for shedding some light. Do you mind sharing references to what you said? Will be useful to counter the "US so bad, look at Canada bwahaha" smug narratives.
Yeah I suspect this person is immersed in western news and just hears all about “the bad guys”, but I wonder what the USA looks like to someone in those places.
I appreciate your sharing of links. I didn’t have the energy to dig up a bunch of data, but the note about military expenditures supports the point nicely.
I didn't say that Americans are the only ones who believe that. You are the one who is singling out the U.S. for some sort of special criticism--based on gross misunderstandings of the state of things here.
The sad part is US has been a force against democratic govt for the last 50 years.
India, Bangladesh ( my own people ), Iran, Nicaragua, Vietnam.
Meanwhile arming pakistan while it was military dictatorship, Saudi, etc.
The US is like any other country - its out for its own interest and securing resources for itself.
I cringe whenever americans take a high ground.
Its just a lot of propaganda, It took me a while to do my own research since no one directly provides the information. But its all there !
I find the fact that people in hacker news who consider themselves to be the more educated crowd do not keep tabs on it. What chance does the rest of the country have ?
The hardline Iranians were part of a generation that was deeply humiliated by the US. They are not the most educated bunch but they did what they had to do and everyone should respect them for it.
I think things would have been much worse by now if it wasn't for the rapid rise of china which went under the radar of american policy makers.
China hopefully provides the balance that is needed to prevent either America or China itself for doing terrible things to other countries.
You didn't do this to every western country that literal segregates and discriminates against people who do not get two shots of some worthless drug. These countries prevent these people from getting or keeping jobs, or even just going to restaurants. What a complete load of shit. You are all fake. Canada can enact permanent martial law and you won't be pulling them. Stop all of your pretend bullshit. Stop misusing words like authoritarianism.
Everything about the west is completely fake. Namecheap.. is that america. Isn't that the country that killed hundreds of thousands of people by pretending there were WMDs in some country?
Can you cite a few so there's a basis for discussion? I see a lot of people saying they're anti-US, but it's usually supported with articles and video critical of government actions, not the country itself.
Regarding your first point, yes, that’s an interesting take. Regarding the criticism of the US, yes you’re probably correct, but this is a “what about” argument that doesn’t really aid the discussion in my opinion.
Only pointing out the sins of others because some dick decided to turn a fun historical thread into smug hate the US thread.
You are kind of proving his point.
He made a valid criticism of the US and its people's tendency to excuse their own bad behaviour, while noting that it is likely a common thing across most nations, and you get really defensive and angry because he had the audacity to do so.
That's the American exceptionalism thing we all know and love. You interpret criticism as a smug US hate thread which is fucking ridiculous and only serves to kill any debate.
Can you point out where someone is complaining about this while simultaneously denying US policy along similar lines as you describe?
I can see maybe one comment that might be somewhat close to what you describe, but you make it seem as if the whole thread is chanting "USA", and I am getting quite the opposite impression.
"It sees everything as a zero-sum game. The US, despite it's flaws, is excellent at building and maintaining deep economic and political relationships around the world. "
I can't believe I'm reading this here. The USA has bullied its will in the world unopposed (except a little by the URSS) since the end of the Second World War. Just go to wikipedia and read, for instance, the history of any country south of Rio Grande . Or Iran, now that is fashionable.
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