Yesterday I received an article written by Roland Martin, a nationally syndicated columnist and CNN Contributor, entitled “U.S. should leave Iran alone.” In it, Martin asserts that Obama critics wrongly accuse him of being too cautious with Iran and then proceeds to teach a short history lesson on the history between the US and Iran.
You must read the article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/24/martin.obama.iran/index.html
During the article, he references a book "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq" by Stephen Kinzer. Stephen Kinzer is an author and reporter and veteran New York Times correspondent. (Source: http://www.stephenkinzer.com/)
In it, he writes that the invasion of Iraq “was the culmination of a 110-year period during which Americans overthrew fourteen governments that displeased them for various ideological, political, and economic reasons.
(Source: http://www.democracynow.org/2006/4/21/overthrow_americas_century_of_regime_change)
Being a history buff, my friend went out and purchased the audio book version and conversation about the book ensued in a phone call last evening. He relayed to me the information the book asserted, the first story concerning the overthrow of Kingdom of Hawaiian:
Until the 1890s the Kingdom of Hawaii was an independent sovereign state, recognized by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Germany. Though there were threats to Hawaii's sovereignty throughout the Kingdom's history, it was not until the signing, under duress, of the Bayonet Constitution in 1887, that this threat began to be realized. On January 17, 1893, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, was deposed in a coup d'état attempting to establish the Constitution of 1893.
The coup left her imprisoned at Lolani Palace house arrest. The sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii was lost to a Provisional Government led by the conspirators, later briefly becoming the Republic of Hawaii, before eventual annexation to the United States in 1898. One hundred years later, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 103-150, otherwise known as the Apology Resolution, signed by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993. The resolution apologized for the U.S. Government's role in supporting the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
The coup d'état that overthrew Queen Liliuokalani was led by Lorrin A. Thurston, a grandson of American missionaries who derived his support primarily from the American and European business class residing in Hawaii and other supporters of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Most of the leaders of the Committee of Safety, which declared the queen deposed, were Kingdom subjects and included legislators, government officers, and even a Supreme Court Justice of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom)
Interesting enough, the book goes on to outline “regime change” in many countries that have come at the hand of American hands and funded with American capital to achieve national commerce and political goals. As if American sovereignty in world affairs should take precedence over all else, including the well being of other nations. Don’t get me wrong. I understand that conquest and imperialism has been the story of the world. History, however, has taught us also that all great empires came to an end at some point. Past offenses are usually revisited by children who saw it happen and attempts to settle them usually result in war.
But who gets to say what the world is supposed to look like economically, politically, educationally, spiritually or otherwise?
And what gives them/us the right to impose their will on others?
The immigrants that sailed from England to the New World in search of freedom of choice left Europe because they wanted to do their own thing, right? So how is it that the youngest nation in the world now asserts its freedom by forcing other nations to conform to what we see as “civilized and acceptable”, and those who are doing their own thing, we despise, chastise, and try to convert?
Are we the bratty teenager that thinks they know it all?
It reminds me of a story about Dairy Queen, a sundae, and my mom:
My mom’s idea of a standard ice cream Sundae has ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry. At Dairy Queen, a standard ice cream sundae is ice cream, chocolate syrup. The deluxe sundae includes whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry. She orders a sundae (with her idea in mind), and they give her a sundae (with their menu item in mind). She observes the absence of whipped cream, nuts and a cherry and points it out to the cashier. The cashier explains there will be an additional charge for those items. My mother, not wanting to pay extra, expresses her idea of a sundae. The cashier explains that her idea is a deluxe and costs more. After several minutes of back and forth banter, talking with the manager, and neither side budging on their “standards”, she decides she does not want to pay the additional 38 cents for her “standard”-their “deluxe”, and leaves upset and not wanting to patronize Dairy Queen again, telling others not to go there.
This story is a good example of how I have viewed the US and foreign relations often times (not always). The US, or western ideology, is like my mom at Dairy Queen, having a personal standard of how things should be and forcing that standard upon others who’s views are different. Then becoming angry and walking away when “they” don’t change how they do things after being “enlightened” about her standard. I’m not a political buff, but since I have been living, I have seen the “Big Bully” move played out several times in our diplomatic relations. Even movies like Swordfish (understandably fiction, but understandably realistic) talks about counter terrorism and give a suggestive view of how we are so protected here in the US. (By the way, I do appreciate the level of protection we enjoy here- or at least the perception of it. I don’t walk outside into a war-torn country or have fear of my city being bombed. I’m grateful for that.)
I love my country. I would not trade my citizenship with anyone outside the US. This is, however, becoming a very interesting history lesson. Thanks B!
What do you think?
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