Do you agree that America is a force of good?

Much of any debate goes into precisely defining terms. Of course your question depends on how you define good, freedom and right.

As far as America being “good” this depends on what you value. We have caused a great deal of suffering while persuing our national interests. Much of the unrest in the Middle East is a product of our meddling. When Iran wanted to nationalize their oil industry so their oil wealth would benefit Iranians rather than foreigners our CIA supported a coup that installed the Brutal but West friendly Shah of Iran. When Iraq was preparing to do the same we helped the Ba’ath party assume power. From the point of view of the Middle East America could hardly be seen as a force for good.

Early in our history we were guilty of genocide against entire nations of native Americans and most of the surviving native Americans were removed from their land and moved into reservations where they live in hunger and squalor.

Slavery was legal in America for nearly a century after our revolution and the Emancipation Proclimation wasn’t driven as much by distain for slavery but by the desire of the North to punish the South after the civil war. Many of the founding fathers who were against slavery were willing to compromise on this issue for the cause of national unity but had we remained part of Great Britain slavery in America would have been abolished earlier

Which freedoms do you value most?

Freedom to make profits? Freedom to pollute the environment? Freedom to own and use firearms? Freedom to voice unpopular views? Freedom from government persecution? Freedom from regulation?

I’d say that at our conception that America was the freest nation in the civilized world but many of the founding father’s ideals were already being challenged as soon as 50 years after the revolution. Nearly every law passed reduces our freedoms (except laws like the Bill of Rights that limit government behavior rather than individual behavior).

In many ways freedom comes down to the rights of the individal vs. the rights of society. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the first ammendment and considered by many to be our most important right but it has limits. We have laws against perjury and slander. A nation without laws against perjury and slander might be seen as freer than the US but is that what we really want?

In terms of absolute freedom lawless 3rd world countries where thugs can, murder, rape, and steal with impunity are freer than we are.

As far as standing up for what is right durring the cold war we supported some very unsavory groups simply because they were anti-communist. We opposed leftist governments who were democratically elected and popular simply because their ecomonic ideology differed from our own. We prefer fascists to socialists.

Now we live in a world where natural resources are being depleated and we are polluting faster than the environment can can absorb it. America is responsible for more than its share of this consumption and polution. From an international point of view we are using up the Earth faster than others. Is this good?

All this said I still hold the opion that America gets more things right than any other nation in the world. We are not perfect though and we can still learn a lot from other nations who do some things better than we do.