tp97.xml
Title
tp97.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-28
TomPaine Story: Story
Something about the spirit of worldwide cooperative effort initiated by the Bush administration in the days following 9/11 seemed too good to be true. The heady notion of again being an active participant in world discussion, rather than a dictator shouting orders or petulant child taking his ball and going home, was simply not meant to be.
The Bush administration, prior to the events of 9/11, had done their level best to estrange virtually every allied government on the globe with sweeping moves designed with a unilateral agenda in mind. Allies cringed at our repugnant stance and complete turnabout on a litany of subjects; the environmental concerns of Kyoto fell to corporate greed, nuclear testing treaties fell to expedience along with ABM agreements and others. We were headed swiftly toward a growing alienation from those we call friends.
In just a few moments of an otherwise ordinary day, everything changed, including attitudes toward our nation. The world mourned with us and banded together to show their support and sympathy for our mutual pain. Nations lined up alongside us to assist in eradicating the villains who could as easily perpetrate such terror anywhere. For a few precious moments, the U.S. was again the partner, the friend we claim to be.
Recently, it has become evident that we have all but squandered this universal good will by returning to our past unilateral ways. Our leaderships incessant bullying regarding an all too sought after Iraq invasion, not to mention our embarrassing antics toward the International Court, have left a bad taste in the mouths of nations who were proud to stand with us.
Perhaps our unilateral agenda deserves to remain in the closed history of our selfish past before it crushes the hope of future progress and most importantly future peace.
The Bush administration, prior to the events of 9/11, had done their level best to estrange virtually every allied government on the globe with sweeping moves designed with a unilateral agenda in mind. Allies cringed at our repugnant stance and complete turnabout on a litany of subjects; the environmental concerns of Kyoto fell to corporate greed, nuclear testing treaties fell to expedience along with ABM agreements and others. We were headed swiftly toward a growing alienation from those we call friends.
In just a few moments of an otherwise ordinary day, everything changed, including attitudes toward our nation. The world mourned with us and banded together to show their support and sympathy for our mutual pain. Nations lined up alongside us to assist in eradicating the villains who could as easily perpetrate such terror anywhere. For a few precious moments, the U.S. was again the partner, the friend we claim to be.
Recently, it has become evident that we have all but squandered this universal good will by returning to our past unilateral ways. Our leaderships incessant bullying regarding an all too sought after Iraq invasion, not to mention our embarrassing antics toward the International Court, have left a bad taste in the mouths of nations who were proud to stand with us.
Perhaps our unilateral agenda deserves to remain in the closed history of our selfish past before it crushes the hope of future progress and most importantly future peace.
Collection
Citation
“tp97.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 24, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/740.