Reply #117: I have thought about that quite a bit

[Two Americas]

I agree with you that sometimes there are such horrific situations going on in the world that someone has to step up to the plate. But that cannot be the United States military. Our government is on the wrong side. Before we could go around saving others, this would have to be a very different country. It is an illusion that power could remain in the hands it is now and that we at the same time can somehow be the good guys. It us a dangerous and deadly illusion. Let's deal with the tyranny here, that is the tyranny that threatens the world. You don't see the tyranny here, don't see that this is the nerve center and headquarters for tyranny international, because you are part of the palace guard. You serve the killing machine and are given some security and peace and well being - such as it is - in exchange for your compliance and obedience. So it seems nice and benign, and we can fantasize about America as the good guy. That is an illusion.

The United States does not so much have a chip on its shoulder, rather the government has been hijacked by the wealthy and powerful few and the military does their bidding and advances their interests.

As individuals, we can go join up and help other people fight tyranny, as people did during the Spanish Civil War. Keep in mind though, that if you do that, your own government will oppose you. Always. But it would be time better spent to organize opposition here, among your own people and fight for them. Then the people here - not the rulers - can help those abroad.

A lot of this hinges on what people mean when they say "we" and "America." The activist community is dominated by people who unconsciously betray their loyalty to the upper class by how they use those two words. They say "we" did this or that, or "America" is this or that when they mean the rulers.

If you think of America as the people, identify with that "we," with the working people, and then ask "should the workers here unite and battle against tyranny and give aid to and stand in solidarity with other oppressed workers around the world?" My answer is yes. That is how you overthrow tyranny and stop genocide.

If, on the other hand, by "we" and "America" you mean the rulers and the Pentagon and the corporations, and ask should we encourage them to intervene around the world, or expect them to be overthrowing tyranny or stopping genocide, the the answer is a resounding "no." They are on the other side from the people, here and abroad.