US BASHING
Posted on September 27th, 2009
ASOKA S
US bashing is a common thing to many who write on the on line forums. It is rarely that one sees bashing of other powerful nations like Britain, Germany France, Canada or Australia. Bashing is usually done by expatriate Lankans who live outside Lanka in relative security and prosperity of the West.
As a Sri Lankan who lived in many continents, I can honestly say USA has been subjected to great many unfair criticism as against the enormous greatness of this country to all humanity.
Take for example the election of President Barak Obama who is a first generation immigrant to a Kenyan father and a black man with no political or financial wealth. Where else on earth in these so called developed countries can one even come close to being such powerful heights other than in great USA? In the entire history of mankind USA produced the first non white head of the country where over 60% of population is white and to that matter, to the position of the most powerful man in the planet powering a fourteen trillion dollar military industrial complex.
Talk to the millions of immigrants who flock to this blessed land in search of the great American dream and make that dream possible other than in the USA. I have spoken to countless Sri Lankan and non Sri Lankan immigrants, some with high academic achievements, who would readily agree that USA offers them the greatest potential to achievement for business or career. USA has produced countless leaders in both the public and the all mighty private sector who are either immigrants from poor countries or their first generation children.
I have witnessed to my own eyes how US justice system dish out justice to any legal or potentially illegal immigrant the same way it would treat a full blown born and bread American with total empathy and fairness. As a person who has witnessed similar situations in Western Europe I can honestly say the highest standard of common justice to any person on earth is meted out in great US of A. It is believed over 12 miilion illegal immigrants live and work in USA but the Federal Goverment do not hound them and deport them as a policy. There is plenty of sympathy amoung the American public to an immigrant who live here illegally to give their families a better life.
It was USA under President Clinton in 1997 who was the first among the developed countries to ban the LTTE as a Foreign Tourist Organization long before Britain,EU or Australia. USA has such immense freedom that the money rich LTTE propaganda machine cunningly penetrated into certain politicians to win sympathy for their bogus goals while at the time GOSL did a very poor job of countering such in an effective manner.
If Sri Lanka were ever to blame anybody for its economic social failures, we have only ourselves to blame. Year after year we elected a bunch of corrupt politicians who dished themselves the country’s wealth while paying lip service to the ordinary man. How else can we explain the fact that countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Honk Kong, Korea and now mighty India achieved economic success while we were still struggling to get our act together, They too played in the same global socioeconomic field as us but we were stagnant.
Let us stop bashing others for our sins, our sin being that we send a bunch of cinnamon garden aristocrats to rule our country. Many of these so called leaders have hardly managed a grocery store but we elected them to manage our entire nation giving them on the job training at people’s expense. When they screw up, we blame USA and the rest.
ASOKA S
September 28th, 2009 at 2:20 am
Oh Boy! This article is the best ever fiction I read. You deserve Noble prize for your imagination and for living with total sensory deprivation. I hope you are not one of those worthless sucklings who served with the Foreign Ministry in Sri Lanka. I am someone who got the option to go to US when I could not bear the slaughtering and barbequing of young lads in the late 80s, but chose my second option just because of location. How lucky I was. Just read the next sentence to give you what I am thinking now. Recently I played a joke by asking my wife to tell what I would choose if I am forced to choose between US and Hell. She did not have any hesitation to tell the answer. Let the readers decide it for themselves. I wonder whether you even heard that English created your heaven by settling hardcore criminals languishing in British jails and forced abduction of African slaves. Those who broke out of oppressive rule created the land of freedom on someone else’s backyard. Good for them, isn’t it? I wonder whether there is even any minute change in behaviour towards the world from how they behaved towards the natives when killing and grabbing their land and resources.
There is no point in telling you more because anybody can judge you by the content of this article. But for others, I like to paste a web comment related to US interference in Sri Lankan affairs as follows in Response to an article related to famous DJ. “What is going to happen is not stoppable as it is the US that should change. We will face it and come out winners starting a new era that you have never seen before. Please stop barking with super power crap. US just like several other countries is a rogue state, failed state, mafia state, bankrupt state, terror state and a dieing state picking on Lanka before taking its last few breaths at the world stage, at last pecking the plantain tree. Any one who has doubt about these comments should try to understand the true meaning of the words used here.”
Obviously people like you are no different to your politicians who worship the same gods and seek their guidance (handouts). Unfortunately people like you will be back in your original form when Sinhale (Lanka) regains its due place as the first civilisation of the modern humans.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Can we forget the fact that if not for the insanity of Prabhakaran, who refuse the offer to be saved by the US, to day all the terrorist leaders will be still alive in the care of US or EU country. Don’t think they going to abandone thier dirty agenda of deviding and creating problems in SL. They try to save LTTE terrorist leaders for a reason. This is still not over. Now they are going to try to achieve thier goals by accusing SL leadership of bogus war crimes with the help of the Pro-LTTE groups in USA. Shameful politicians in USA are driving it to destruction, creating a massive anti-USA force in the world.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
It may well be, as the writer of this article says that “US bashing is a common thing to many who write on the on line forums.” It is not correct, however, to add that “It is rarely that one sees bashing of other powerful nations like Britain, Germany France, Canada or Australia.” In fact, the record will show that nations like Britain, France and Canada indeed cop as much criticism as the US.
The point about the election as President, of Barak Obama the son of “a Kenyan father and a black man with no political or financial wealth”, is well made. The election of Obama, a black man, to the US Presidency is as remarkable as was Abraham Lincoln’s journey from a ‘log cabin to the White House’. The election of both these men reflects the great opportunities that the US offers to its citizens. All that is to the good and should be admired and applauded. And so also should we appreciate the many good things that distinguish the great country that is the USA.
But all this does not mean that we are not justified in criticizing US foreign policy towards Sri Lanka when such criticism is warranted. And, unfortunately, the conduct of US officials, most recently of the likes of the former US ambassador, Robert Blake, has been manifestly less than fair to Sri Lanka.
All that said, however, I believe we should go easy on “US bashing” or the bashing of any other country, for that matter. I cannot help feeling that the comments of some contributors to the Lankaweb columns are ‘over the top’. We need to moderate our language and try to remain objective, in this regard. The ‘faults’ of others do not justify bad manners or poor conduct on our part. And, at a practical level, it is good to remember that however flawed their policies, the US and other western countries are the ones with the clout – the ones who call the shots. We should realize that intemperate comments will only serve to alienate them. Our objective should be to get them on side.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:27 am
I have read many so-called US bashings, but believe they are not even close enough to the truth. I believe you should speak to other English gents living in other parts of the world to get a better understanding of US. I told an ugly American, a visitor, who shared the same space with me for a short period in mid nineties that US dominance will not last for more than a few more decades earning his wrath. So, everyone should tell what he or she feels without trying to censor his or her thoughts. At the end, it is the US that charters its future, not others who tell various things. By the way Ashoka S is right if we go to US with a lot of money until we spend it. According to my guess, Ashoka S should have been there funded by someone else and seems to have no experience of going thorough what other people have experienced. Have you read the slaughter of the whole family and subsequent suicide committed by two Tamils and a Hindu during very recent times before writing this article?
September 30th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Dear Asoka!
I recalled a remark made by a batch mate of mine a Mexican about USA. When I came to know she was from Mexico I told her that Mexico is neighbouring to USA. The reply was given by her was “That is our biggest curse”. But present world opinion USA is a curse not only to Mexico to entire world.
In USA either white man and black woman (Bush/Condelesa Rice) or black man and white woman (Obama/Hilary) comes to power real rulers are CIA, FBI backed multimillion weapon dealers, arms manufactures, mafias, several industrialists and several greedy capitalists.
What is the policy difference between the Afro American president and Euro American president’s Afghanistan invasion/massacre of Muslims? White man invaded and slaughtered million of innocent Afghanis because they are Muslims the Black man justified and continued the same war crimes. Is that you expect from him Asoka?
War Crimes: Attempted to kill Fidel Castro several times, Killed Salvador Allende of Chilli, Maurice Bishop of Grenada, Sadam Hussein of Iraq, and Ernesto Che Guevara of Cuba/Argentina. These are few examples only. What is USA’s right to kill leaders of other countries?
That is why we don’t like USA policy.