Conventional wisdom tells us that reading up on current affairs gives us the tools we need to make small talk.
Though it seems report after report of suicide bombings and America’s misadventures in Iraq don’t make for very good conversation.
“Bush-bashing” has been worn out to the point of being tasteless, but only because we’ve been doing it wrong.
We shouldn’t limit “Bush-bashing” to just the “war on terror.” There’s so much more to it than that.
So should we continue to talk disparagingly of America over dinner, we might as well talk about something new.
Finding something to condemn shouldn’t be hard — this is America we’re talking about, after all.
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The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is an ambitious project to save the world. At least it was, until the Bush administration jumped ship, taking the treaty’s credibility with it. Now, countries that would otherwise be enthusiastic are inclined to ask, “Why should I agree when America, the world’s largest producer of carbon emissions, hasn’t?”
Somehow, you can’t blame America, which has a point in that the treaty is unfair, since rich countries have to submit to the economically stifling conditions while poorer ones, like China and India, don’t (even though they account for their fair share of greenhouse gases). Although that hasn’t stopped the EU from at least making an effort to meet the treaty’s requirements — and with good reason: the EU is disturbed by the consequences of global warming. Is America?
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Development Aid and the Monterrey Consensus
If it’s any consolation to heartbroken environmentalists, America can’t break a promise it didn’t make. But unlike the Kyoto Protocol, America did agree to the Monterrey Consensus in 2002. By doing so, America promised to donate 0.7 percent of its annual GDP to help the third world. Despite Bono’s activism, the US government has only put forward 0.22 percent (the least among first world nations).
Yes, it’s true that America’s citizens are among the most generous private donors, but their government’s efforts have been pathetic. Typical of a government that has forgotten about the world’s poorest countries, America (population: 305 million) donated less to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami than Australia (population, 21 million). With more than a trillion dollars spent on the “war on terror,” it’s ironic that America doesn’t confront the problem at its source.
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Failing to Recognize Hamas
When America came bursting into the Middle East, it prided itself on being the champion of democracy. It still continues to do so today. Yet America still refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Hamas, a Palestinian party that was democratically elected in 2006, dismissing it as a terrorist group. Though there might be some truth to America’s claims, their refusal to recognize the legitimate Palestinian government has thrown the Israeli-Palestinian peace process into even further disarray.
Meanwhile, America supports autocracies and military juntas, like those of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf, neither of whom has been legitimately elected. America, apparently, only supports democracy when it works in its favor — which doesn’t make much sense.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC)
Since its founding in 2002, the ICC has been a place for world leaders to stand trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Today, the prosecution is assembling a case against Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, who is claimed to be responsible for the ongoing genocide in Darfur, which has killed some 300,000 people. One hundred and six countries are members of the ICC; America is not.
The absence of the most powerful nation in the world is a blow to the credibility of an organization whose objective is to lock up dictators and tyrants. Perhaps that’s exactly why George Bush decided against membership: only the leaders of member nations can be tried.
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Disregarding Human Rights
The world was shocked in 2004 when pictures were released showing American soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison. Iraqi prisoners were stripped naked, blindfolded, beaten, and then mauled by dogs — and the American soldiers had the nerve to videotape it. No wonder George Bush is afraid of the ICC. Luckily, they have since closed down the prison, but only that much has changed: another American military prison, Guantanamo Bay, still uses the same tactics. Likewise, America still insists on having the right to torture its prisoners, zealously defending the use of “waterboarding” in the media. “Waterboarding” is the act of putting prisoners through simulated drowning. The Nazis used it in WWII.
Torture aside, the catalog of America’s abuse of human rights also includes violating the right of habeas corpus (or the right against unlawful detainment) by imprisoning people indefinitely without having a trial, and the practice of extraordinary rendition, or the arrest of suspected terrorists beyond American borders, which is a breach of international law. The European Union has confirmed that at least 100 people have been illegally captured and detained in secret prisons overseas.
Washington probably has a list of justifications and rebuttals twice as long as this, but the argument in favor of humanity is infallible. America has broken the hearts of the first world’s environmentalists and the third world’s starving poor. It has spat in the face of both democracy and human rights. It’s even allowed dictators to walk free.
It’s sad to see this coming from the most powerful nation in the world, knowing that all we can do is talk about it over dinner or watch it on the news. But look at the bright side: America just might redeem itself by giving us the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Watch it now.
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Note: The 2007 film Rendition is worth watching, for those interested in similar issues.
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For comments and suggestions, email me at levistel@gmail.com.
