I guess my question is who gave the Americans the right? I say this as an American. But would not the world be a better place if we just minded our own business and quit nation building and stoking non existant fires?
No one, powerful countries just assume that they are needed everywhere in the world so they start acting like narcissistic bitch like US.
Nobody gave ‘murica any right, they just imposed themselves. The simple answer is imperialism. USA was always a power and money hungry bitch and has been putting nations, populations and markets under their boots (not always thru military force) for profit since the late 1800s. Yes, they’ve been an evil empire for that long. Latin America as a whole has suffered many hells so uncle sam could keep commodities’ prices super low.
I think you’re setting the timeline about a century and a half too late. The people that would become the first US citizens were genociding the Native Americans as early as 1750
I’m German and went to the US for a year as a high school student.
My US history teacher literally told us that the US is the world police. Because of that I believe that many Americans think that way.
Kinda how they were “last man standing” in WW2. Everybody else got severely fucked and they won them over by with the Marshall aid program which got us to a bi-polar world with NATO in which the US was the hegemony.
After the fall of the Soviet Union and before the rise of China there was only one superpower that could act as such militarily and then US continued their power trip.
Because authoritarians convinced the American people that military interventions prevent terrorist attacks to distract them from the reality which is that terrorist attacks are caused by American interventions.
It’s only possible to convince Americans of that because they are shockingly ignorant of history and they believe whatever the warmongers tell them.
Anybody who thinks about that question enough always realizes they don’t want that kind of power and control. Sometimes people think about it partly, get excited by the promises of power, but only misrepresented by their own misunderstandings, and mistakenly think they do.
Nobody actually does, just not everybody realizes it fully.
Every empire has those aspirations.
There are many ways to achieve it through the complex relationships between countries and societies (e.g. soft power, cultural influence, militar control, etc) but an empire willing to try it at any cost with any means will always succeed for longer as an empire…
Because people in power only want one thing - more power. They only fear one thing - loosing power.
*Losing
Because it’s an empire. Everything else is clever marketing.
I’m gonna answer from the perspective of someone who believes the world is a better place when it is led by America without reverting to a thin jingoist ideology. These aren’t my views, but a steel man of someone I would disagree with.
Why does America feel the need to control the world?
In the wake of the world wars, we realized that the world is best off with one power to lead the world. No powers and multiple powers will result in another world war. We were the best position to take that role after WW2 and resist the Soviet union’s attempt to gaining that position.
Do what they say?
Many of these countries don’t do what America says because America says it. Heck, many go against what we say. But they believe in a better world and when they remember that, they undtand that America is putting themselves in the most danger by clearing that path for the rest of the free world.
Instead of taking care of their own problems at home?
The problems we have at home are pretty limited. Most of these problems are born out of laziness. But we keep the criminals in check both at home and abroad.
When did the US become police officer of the world and enforcer?
If we didn’t step up after ww2, the world would have slipped into another world war or deem communism run rampant.
I guess my question is who gave the Americans the right?
The civilized world at the end of WW2. And under our leadership, the world is safer and healthier for it.
I say this as an American. But would not the world be a better place if we just minded our own business and quit nation building and stoking non existant fires?
From communism to extreme religious views, we are the only ones who are capable and willing to step up and protect the world against that. It’s a difficult and thankless job.
This is a very America centric veiw and even if it is a steel man it deserves a counterpoint.
After WWII most of the nations who were old empire builders were decimated. The general feeling was even those on the winning side didn’t feel like they’d won. The rebuilding was slow and economic austerity lasted for decades.
The American prosperity of the 1950’s and 60’s wasn’t “normal”. America didn’t have international competition it otherwise would have and that power gave them bargaining rights which made them both culturally dominant as they projected a sense of prosperity and politically powerful due to the resources at their disposal. Opposition to America was potentially disastrous and America threw their weight around like crazy. They expanded their military with these resources and established bases in countries too weak to oppose them.
America came out of the war with something of a Big Damn Hero complex. Communism, for all it’s perceived threat was also a handy excuse to pursue expansion and in keeping American supremacy in place. Whether countries wantes to be “protected” or not really has a lot of across the board nuance. A lot of American political will was coercive and a lot of the things done in the fight for “democracy” were disproportionate and horrific.
Really a lot of the American supremacy at bottom was might makes right. With the world finally recovering economically and now able to speak as equals the US is using measures that demand a return to that economic supremacy and stranglehold. The larger sore points are growing. The world doesn’t need one big power in charge. They don’t need a king with a standing army. They want to make their own choices and have freedoms to not conform to whatever America wants and the attitudes Americans show to disregard that will is garnering response.
I also believed the world was a better place when the US led, but when anyone other than Trump was in power. At least with the US, we had a clear ideal of justice being normalized, and you could feel the progressive momentum with every passing year. We don’t get that among the other major world powers. But I don’t think the US stands for that anymore, thanks to meddling countries like Russia, but that doesn’t mean I want China or, especially, Russia to succeed them. They lobotomized the US and they showed their real face in return.
I want Finland to rule the world.
I also want that, but only for the future generations to know that “we were Finnished”
The last time Finland invaded a nation, they did it together with the Nazis. I don’t think you want Finland to rule the world.
It was either surrender to Soviet Union (legendary dicks) or ally with Nazis (had no reason to stay and conquer us). We picked the lesser evil.
If “the lesser evil” to you are nazis, you’re a nazi
If the lesser evil would’ve been Soviet Union, we would’ve been a) communists and b) not independent anymore.
You famously lost the war, and you’re still an independent nation. Finland obtained independence in 1917 because of the communists, namely the Bolshevik constitution, allowing for the first time in human history the right of self-determination and secession. If it hadn’t been for the communist you’d be a province of Russia.
a large part of finland is a province of russia. Karelia belongs the the finns.
Have you asked Karelians what they think of that? Or are you arguing purely from nationalist beliefs?
Okay but in a hypothetical scenario where Finland ruled the world (as it exists today), I highly, highly doubt they would be siding with fascists. I don’t see your point. Thanks for leading me to some Wikipedia articles to read though.
Finland currently doesn’t recognise Palestine as a country, they’re currently, as it exists today, siding with the genocidal maniacs in the Israeli government.
Perfection is the enemy of progress
That is unfortunate. However, I don’t see why you’re so insistent. You appear to be taking my original comment more seriously than I did. Sorry I didn’t do research on Finland’s position on Palestine or of their involvement in World War II. It was not relevant at the time. I just happen to appreciate Finnish art and culture.
Edit: Sadly, my country doesn’t recognize Palestine either. There isn’t a whole hell of a lot anyone here (excluding our corrupt leaders obviously) can do about it.
You sure are an american since you dont know your own history.
Meanwhile in another thread I saw some Brits bitching about America not entering WWII until the end of 1941.
You’re the bad guy for trying to stay out of international affairs, you’re the bad guy for getting into international affairs. If you find yourself forced to play a game you can’t win, Just start hurting people.
Whenever I’ve seen that, it’s usually in response to America taking the credit for saving the war despite “barely being there”. On the other hand, you could say adding the American force weighed the odds into the allies’ favor, so the swift end wouldn’t have happened naturally . On the other foot, America wouldn’t have built up enough arsenal to have that much effect had they not waited. And on your neighbor’s hand, America seemed to sit idly as they watched nazis be nazis because no no, the guy has some valid points
So you want us to instantly invade any country whose leader we don’t like. KAY!
If that’s your takeaway, sure. It’s more about the 1939 invasion of Poland, the French/British declaring war the same year, the 1940 Blitz bombing of England, and 1940 Battle of France.
Which were America’s problem…how exactly? I will 100% grant you, Germany deserved a swift lead pipe to the mouth for how the 1940’s went. The United States of America, an independent nation in a different hemisphere to which none of that happened, was trying to stay out of it because Europe is not our fault.
We had no mutual defense treaties with anyone in Europe in the 1930’s. It wasn’t our fight. In what way was the safety or sovereignty of Poland our problem in 1939? Precisely how many American lives did we owe Poland at the time?
All you little European nations are so big and proud until the goddamn krauts start getting uppity then it’s “Why didn’t you invade a foreign nation that didn’t do anything to you, Uncle Sam?”
This is why we have NATO. Now we do have a mutual defense pact with much of Europe, so if anybody invades a member country, the rest of us come running.
Eisenhower warned us.
The USA was securing international trade lines. After WW2, they started doing it to counter communism and build friendships. (Cannot attack your trading partners.)
This was not entirely popular with Americans, see “Team America: World Police”.
Another country or coalition could step up. Just build a navy that rivals the USA one to secure shipping lanes.
