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 Why does the world hate America? 
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It came as a mild surprise to me, that may people were surprised by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Many are not aware of what their government has been up to. Here is a short list.

1898-The U.S. took over the Philippines from Spain. The Philippine insurrection began soon afterwards. It ended in 1925 with an agreement to free the Philippines in 1946. The .45 caliber pistol was developed specifically for the Philippine insurrection. Insurgents woulde chew a narcotic so they would not feel pain when shot. The .45 round would physically knock them down.

U.S. business men engineered the overthrow of Hawaii's queen and handed control over to the U.S.

1903-U.S. backs Panamanian insurgents and they are able to secede from the Columbian union. This is so the U.S. could build the Panama Canal.

1912- U.S. Marines land in Nicaragua at the invitation of its president. Marines would occupy Nicaragua off and on til 1933. The Marines organized and trained it's national guard, who helped put General Somoza in power. He and his desendants were backed by the U.S. until the revolution of 1979.

1915-U.S. occupys Haiti. The U.S. ran the country til 1934.

1920's-U.S. backs King Saud of Saudi Arabia. Various U.S. oil companies sign agreements with the Saudi government.

1935-U.S. backs General Batista of Cuba. He ruled Cuba til his overthrow in 1959.

1954-U.S. backs Shah of Iran. Various international oil companies sign agreements. Shah rules Iran unitl being overthrown in the 1979 revolution.

1965- U.S. occuys the Dominican Republic.

U.S. backs Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire. U.s. companies mine for strategic metals and the CIA used Zaire as a base for covert operations. Seko was overthrown in 1997.

U.S. escalates its involment in Vietnam. The U.S. would eventually withdraw in 1973 and the South Vienamese government collapsed in 1975.

1973- U.S and the company ITT allegedly helped install General Pinochet as dictator of Chile. He peacefully stepped down in the 1990's.

1983- U.S. invades Grenada.

1989- U.S. invades Panama.

2001- U.S. is attacked by mostly Saudi Arabians flying airliners into the World Trade Center.

2003-U.S. invades Iraq and continues to the present to fight a determined insurgency.

Almost without exception, tyrannical dictatorships were set up in these countries. These governments were supported by the U.S. in return for favorable terms for extracting resources from that country.

I find it ironic that the "bastion of freedom" has helped set up so many dictatorships around the world. The sad part is that so few Americans seem to be aware of what is going on.

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Graham Ponder


Fri Jul 23, 2004 2:42 pm
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Graham,

I hope that when you teach history to your students, you will teach them the truth about this country. Teach the students why so many people in other countries hate the United States. Please include the history of the Native Americans and other minorities into your curriculum. Although students will not be tested on this knowledge, it is more important for students to know the truth behind the history of the United States.

Michelle Rogers :)


Sat Jul 24, 2004 8:10 pm
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I agree that we as a country have not set the best example for the rest of the world. It is sad that students grow up through years of history classes and don't learn the whole true history of their country. I think if they were taught about the times that we made terrible mistakes throughout history, then they may be able to learn from those mistakes. This will help prepare them to be better leaders for tomorrow.

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Christy J. Hall


Sat Jul 24, 2004 10:41 pm
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I'd like to attempt to answer the posed question from my personal experience. Of course, political involvements and global governmantal issues permeate and shape many opinions of the US worldwide. However, most lay people in foreign countries, like Americans, don't really know the details about our government's role with issues in Cuba and Haiti, amoung the others listed. I certainly wish I were more educated in all of these issues and had your knowledge in social studies, Graham.

Sadly, I have found that the world (at least the parts I've frequented) views America in a largely negative way. We're seen as selfish, arrogant, and greedy. When I last talked with a friend I have in Germany, I posed Graham's question, "Why does the world hate America?" Her answer was that Germans don't "hate" America, they just have a difficult time understanding why we're so selfish, arrogant and greedy. We're viewed as being concerned with "#1" and that we don't even take care of our #1. (Our contribution to recycling vs. the amount of waste we produce is laughable. Germany is a very "green" country.) Yes, we're the "top dog" in most of the world's venues, but, as a general rule, we'll do anything to maintain our reign there, with blatant disregard to the rest of the world.

The last time I was in Itlay, a conversation turned to how the world perceives America and, you guessed it, the perception was generally negative. Of course, Italians are very vibrant and passionate people, so their responses were very to-the-point when given free-rein to answer. In general, they felt that we were very materialistic and that we didn't have the "morals" of the rest of the world.

I certainly am proud to be an American and I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else in the world. It is, however, often difficult to try to understand other world views about us, especially negative ones. I've often been treated a bit brisquely or have been ignored completely in foreign countries, once it was realized that I was an American. I simply go on and leave the situation behind me, but I do feel judged, like something's wrong with me and then I feel compelled to defend myself - my country. Then I realize that ignorance is a universal plague, and those afflicted with it will simply continue to be ignorant. I just have to try, as a teacher and as a traveler, to represent both myself and my country in a positive light.

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Denise Marlow


Sun Jul 25, 2004 2:12 pm
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I didn't realize that America was so corrupt from inside out until I became better educated. I always thought America was so great, and it was great to be an American. I enjoy my life as an American, but I don't agree with how America went about gaining the rights that we have today. Money and power is what runs America. It looks as if it is the politicians and the politicians do what the American people want. That isn't the case. Money is supplie to the politicians that keep more money flowing into the hands of the powerful to give them more power. Big corporations have politicians like puppets on a string. Politicians make discisions based on the ideas that keeping money and power flowing into the hands of the already wealthy and powerful. Wendy Smith


Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:23 pm
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Michelle,

Unfortunately teachers in public school will not be able to teach all that has happened in this great country of ours because of time, politics or personal beliefs. Most people find out on their own and/or when they get to college.

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Chuck Rananto


Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:48 pm
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Graham,

:?: I do not believe the world hates America (United States). Some people do and they have their reasons that most of us already know through their announcement of it. Do we hate Germany because of what Hitler did? Do we hate Spain for what they did back in pre-Western civilization? Did we hate the USSR for having a somewhat equal military strength as we did and for invading Afghanistan? NO! We did not like the person(s) in charge at the time or who made the decisions (not the whole country). This is a topic for an ethics class or possibly a world civilization class. I am not getting why this question is raised in this forum.

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Chuck Rananto


Wed Jul 28, 2004 2:58 pm
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Have to go with Chuck on this one,

America is the envy for most of the world (given, envy can engender hate, but usually not to the extreme your question presuposes)

As for the violence directed against America by Islamic terrorists:
you will find much better reasons in an examination of the Anglo-American( & French (but they are such pushovers, anyway)) capital (oil; read: money; read: power) interests in Trans-Jordan and Arabia following the end of the Great War and in the American take on the class stuggle (read: power; read: political power; read: money) of the Palestinian people.

Dan


Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:20 pm
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When school boards decide on what textbook to use to teach history I feel they will always choose those that present the positive aspects of American History and not that which might be considered contraversicial. I think parents would get upset if their children came home and told them about issues that show past Americans as unetical.

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Andy


Fri Aug 06, 2004 9:50 pm
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