Not surprisingly, my most recent post got a lot of comments. Also not surprisingly, they came in two varieties. I wanted to respond to them promptly. Here’s the first counter.

“Sorry, but you kill that many innocents and basically give a unilateral finger to the world for that long people are gonna be pissed…”

Full comment and response after the cut.

Eight years of Bush was enough to make anybody unAmerican. Sorry, but you kill that many innocents and basically give a unilateral finger to the world for that long people are gonna be pissed (the great lie that was the Iraq war, Afghanistan and blind support for Israel basically pissed off 1.57 billion people who call their god “Allah.”

To say: “So yeah, our country killed and exploited millions of people but why the hate?” will probably make most thinking people hate you more. It’s like a fat guy complaining to skinny dude how hungry he is (big mac in hand).
Some might sympathize with you, some might not. There are worse things, though…much worse…

—

Thanks for the comment, although the way you reconstruct my argument in your last paragraph is not only a ridiculous straw-man, but almost seems like an attempt at intimidation. Let’s try and talk about the previous paragraph, because it’s far more productive and doesn’t suggest that I am fat, stupid or deserve to have violence served against me for my opinions.

Few countries have had to bear the burden of hegemony, and history shows that it’s incredibly difficult. Americans were deceived by their leaders in that “great lie” you speak of in the way so many other countries have been and continue to be deceived by theirs. These countries, however (including the four I’ve had my experiences living in), prefer to shout down US imperialism over letting dissent and dissatisfaction foment within their own borders. Foreign enemies are domestic pacifiers.

But let’s avoid politics because it’s a red herring, and you’ve clearly misconstrued my frustration.

Like you say, most people just want to live a good life and keep their hands clean. This seems true everywhere I’ve been, although the context for their lives and the limitations on their dreams have been drastically different. The problem I am dealing with is why this fact escapes some people when I tell them I’m American. Frankly, “that’s how people are,” just doesn’t do it for me. I want to be responsible for my opinions about people from around the world, and I expect you to be as well.

Don’t judge someone before they open their mouth. Period. Or if you do (I’ll admit that I do a lot), at least do your best to be listen and understand the choices they’ve made, or not made, to become who they are. What frustrates me in your argument is that you seem to suggest that this is my job, and that I should be fine with coming across anyone that fails to do the same themselves.

Take the Sofia hipsters for instance, who I felt were too caught up in moralizing solipsism to learn a few things about me and the people that I love. First, I campaigned for every presidential candidate opposing Bush and voted in every major election against the very course of action that I have been judged for. Second, I am traveling, like so many, to learn more about the world I live in and the people that live in it with me. Third, I have been working for over a year to build a travel network in order to educate my countrymen about these very things so we can avoid such things in the future.

So when you say it’s “just how people are”, I feel so disappointed. I am not simply content to expect understanding and open-mindedness from myself– I want to expect it from others as well.

So please don’t tell me not to get frustrated when I find closed-minded ignorance instead of an effort to understand others, because that’s what got us here in the first place.