Suffering in the World Caused by the USA.

I certainly don't consider myself anti-America per se. But I was just wondering, how much of the suffering in the world can be traced back to the USA? A small portion of it? Most of it? All of it?

The US supports dictators when it suits its economic interests. We do a lot of harm by our deliberate inaction too, I'm sure. And then there are things that negatively affect the globe, like our disastrous war on drugs. I'm sorry, love it or leave it, the US is responsible for a lot of harm in this world.

But how much world suffering is actually caused (directly or indirectly) by the USA?

:love:

 

All of it; all that has been, all that is ongoing, and all that will be.

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

 

LOL. Silly libs.

 

A lot of it is either directly or indirectly caused by American meddling around the world. Haiti is a particularly strong example of this - the US has twice removed a democratically elected president (well, the same guy two times) because he did not have the correct ideas.

I would disagree that it is possible to cause harm by inaction. They might choose not to prevent harm in certain situations, but I don't think that means they are responsible for harm.

 

That depends on if you are talking presently or historically.
If only considering the present then sure an argument could be made.
If you are talking historically, then there have been many, many other civilizations/nations that have inflicted considerably more suffering on the world than America ever has.

The British are the most recent ones historically that caused much, much more suffering than America has. Remember it was predominately the British and Dutch that ran the slave trade.

The further back in time you go, the greater the degree of overall suffering caused by different cultures increases, usually due to the length of reign of particular culture.

Ever hear of the Assyrians? they were real mother fuckers and inflicted serious suffering on any and all they came across. Same with Babylonians. The Egyptians didn't rule for 4000 years by being the "nice guy". Plus ALL these ancient societies were based on slave economics.
So how does 4000 years of enslaving people measure up against what the US has done in a little over 200 years?

Humans are so myopic.

 

The problem was that often the ‘good intentions’ were not discussed or not discussed in anything like a rational way.

The red scares that brought about an almost hysterical fear of left wing ideas in many Americans allowed US administrations to do things that brought about suffering in the US and around the world.

There was also the myth of the US’s ‘manifest destiny’ and American ‘exceptionalism’ that for many Americans backed up any action. The ends justified the means, the US and Americans were fighting to make the world free and better…

That is the problem with much of Gas’s historical take. The Assyrians, Babylonians and the Egypt of the Pharaohs for example celebrated their cruelty (go check out the freezes) there wars were not about bringing something ‘better’ it was about subjugation.

Many Americans don't see pasted action in those terms

Also those empires (even the British one during its rise) were not democracies.

Americans believed they were the bulwark of freedom against the evil of ‘communism’ (which seemed to mean anything left wing) the Korean war was popular until it was not Vietnam was popular until it was not, Americans voted for the Bush jr Administration twice, it cheered on the ‘liberation’ of Afghanistan and Iraq, popular wars until they were not.

Thing is that many Americans are shocked when they find out that in some parts of the world they are hated, they think they should be loved for all they have done.

 

There is nothing wrong with my response to the ORIGINAL post. Now all the gobbledygook you spouted off could also be applied to the British Empire and you guys wreaked a LOT more havoc on the world at large than America.
The question wasn't about motivations or democracy, it was simply about
"has America caused the most suffering in the world?"
and considering the actual question, my answer is spot-on.
Honestly, if you want to start comparing atrocities over history, you Brits have us yanks beat by a long mile.

But of course you just view it as another opportunity to pull out your little soapbox and start in with your spiel.

 

The British were right there with the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the fight against communism. Your whole shtick is getting old.

 

that says it all
/thread

 

Just look at a map of the world, and think about all the areas where the US has little or no involvement or significant influence. It's a large percentage of the total land area. Russia, China, India, Australia, most of Africa... We do interact a lot with most of Europe, but it isn't a place of great suffering, compared to past centuries. We're not causing trouble in Canada either. The controversial locations for US involvement are confined to just a few hot spots around the world, mostly in the Middle East.

...which has been around forever. Possibly followed by religion?

 

And a large portion of Latin America.

 

True.

 

Why bother? we need the $ at home.

 

Why bother with what?

 

Why bother with anyone outside of US borders? Problematic ; at best.

 

Why bother posting if you're not going to respond to the OP?

 

I believe I already have. Ungrateful bastards. They should all be speaking German. We saved their sorry asses from the nazis. Mid East ; let alla decide. What else? They are all a pain in the rectum for the American taxpayer. Get it?

 

I'm reporting you as a troll. Your ignorant ramblings are getting old