Pen-Elayne on the Web

Tight Moccasins

So how would we react if there were suddenly a very powerful country, both militarily and economically, that decided they wanted to "oust" our president? They don't like the way we ignore the UN when it suits our purpose; they list all the crimes our government has committed against its citizens (the death penalty, the drug war, racial profiling, whatever) and other countries; they point out that we're the only country that's ever used nuclear weapons against another country and therefore those weapons of mass destruction should really be overseen by an international body since we can't be trusted and have already talked about making "pre-emptive strikes" (i.e., attacking countries first, countries who haven't yet done anything aggressive); and besides, our current president isn't even duly elected by the people (not to mention our system doesn't allow for direct from-the-people presidential elections anyway). So it's their right, by virtue of being so powerful, to "oust" him.

I mean, we'd be horrified, wouldn't we? Even those of us who don't care for Bush would see this as a gross violation of international law. You don't waltz your army into another country and oust their leader.

Does anyone besides me ever listen to what we plan to do to other countries, turn it around and imagine what it might be like if we were on the receiving end of such arrogance? I imagine that we'd be infuriated, and rightly so, were this sort of thing directed against us.

Or is it just too much trouble for most people to "walk a mile in another's moccasins," fearing they might find them a little uncomfortable?