The United States - considered an extension of the Western world - is under constant scrutiny by other countries. In relation to economic and foreign political policy, technological advancement, military strength, and cultural trends, there are strengths and weaknesses in America's image and impact around the world.

Loyalist to America and its values contend that the United States is the greatest country in the world to live; the country of unfettered freedom, opportunity to fulfill dreams, and blessed of the most High God. As any native person to their land would, these loyalists' for America pledge themselves to defending and promoting the American way of life, as they are expected to. However, in recent years, belief in and loyalty to the American way of life is waning among its own citizens.

According to a poll from the Washington Post, "73 percent of Americans said the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, while 25 percent said things are going in the right direction," which is a large portion of the people. Worldwide, the numbers are even larger.

Those who hold steady optimism are those who would rather not give up on the country and would rather believe that everything is honky dory [no pun intended]. They see no wrong in America's foreign and domestic policies and are convinced that if there are problems, the problems are not the cause of failed leadership or political policy, but rather, somehow, the fault of those who see things differently.

In other words, there are some people in America who think that the problems of America and Americans are caused by the people themselves for lack of personal responsibility and not because of going trends of apathy among law and policy makers toward the masses. Job outsourcing and insecurity, immigrant amnesty over natural citizenship, and foreign affairs that drain domestic opportunity are some of the major concerns of the public.

These same people arrogantly suppose and contend that America is the greatest country to live without regard to other countries where people live, survive, and succeed everyday, based on a lifestyle unlike that of the American lifestyle. They believe that there are people all around the world dying to abandon their homeland to come and live in the great America because their lands are filled with corruption, poverty, and disease. Yet this is deceptive thinking.

Although there are people around the world who desire to live in America and possibly as a result of their situation in their own land, this is not the common sentiment among people of the world. In fact, most people are happy with their life in their own country. It is the way they were raised and is all they know so they are content.

They see images and pictures of the American way of life and some are fascinated yet some are disgusted. Disgusted because some of the images are contrary to what they know as life and what they have learned as proper behavior.

Many optimist of American life (including the president) claim via mainstream media that if America is hated, it is because of jealousy of America's freedoms, or because of America's progressiveness in technology of lifestyle: they argue that radicals and anti-American terrorist organizations hate America because it condemns oppression, dictatorship and government rule; however, if examined closely, America practices these same things only in a more organized and less noticeable way.

Truth be told, (and testified by the recent poll of its own citizens) America is not hated because of the reasons quoted by mainstream optimist, but America is hated because America force their way of life on other countries and cultures disguised as Democracy and Freedom, regardless of whether that country desires America's ways or not.

Many times, American journalists traveling in other countries ask citizens if they like America and want to live there. The response is always the same and as expected. Most people do not want to move to America because they are happy where they are, yet some people do want to move to America. Those who desire to live in America, however, are those who are attracted to the seductive images of America's fun-loving lifestyles, while others are content with their lives where they are.

The optimist report the answers in favor of the American life as opposed to the reports of people who do not desire to live here for reasons of culture, dignity, and loyalty to their own country. Not everyone share the same views about America as the optimist in America does, furthermore, more people are adopting a more pessimistic view of American life, here and abroad.

Constantly, the opinions of people of other countries and cultures condemn American lifestyle and culture and flag it as immoral. Issues that American politicians and citizens debate daily such as abortion, laws protecting alternative lifestyles of homosexuality, gun violence, divorce, corporate corruption, poverty among children and the elderly, rampant imprisonment of its population (particularly people of color), failing public schools, which have dropped to double digits in world competitions, are just some of the reasons people of other countries and cultures have negative views of America.

When these views are formed into radical agendas to oppose and even wage war against America in order to protect their own cultures and lands, it is done not because of jealousy, but because of frustration and opposition to forced change, and in the case of culture, American culture is the culprit.

When viewing foreign affairs, people in other countries see America as an imperialist state seeking to impose on their way of life. In times past, America has moved in and taken over lands, forcefully occupied cities and nations, and spread what they believe people desire, Democracy.

According to the Eastern philosopher Oswald Spengler who authored the historical book "The Decline of the West", he said "Imperialism, of which petrifacts such as the Egyptian empire, the Roman, the Chinese, the Indian, may continue to exist for hundreds or thousands of years ... is to be taken as the typical symbol of the end. Imperialism is Civilization unadulterated. In this phenomenal form the destiny of the West is now irrevocably set." -- The Conclusion - Imperialism [p 27].

Paraphrasing Spengler, the West, not learning from Dynasties in times past, America in its lead to spread Democracy is on a downward spiral toward its end as a result of attempting to imperialize the world. The course by nature is "irrevocably set" and there is little chance of turning back, especially after the U.S. entered Iraq in 2003 to disrupt the lives of Middle Easterners. Since then, American citizens and other peoples of the world see the U.S. in a much negative light.

After 5 years of war and occupation in Iraq, "61 percent in this poll said the war was not worth fighting, and nearly two-thirds said the United States is not making significant progress restoring civil order in Iraq. However, there is no such general agreement about what to do." Yet the military remains there.

Now stranded in the Middle East with no clear way out, the United States face even more scrutiny by the world and possible retaliation from various type anti-America terrorist groups and possible hostile countries that have vested interest in Middle East affairs, such as China and or Russia.

Once public sentiment has reached such a low level of opinion, it signals a time for change. However, drastic change in policy by America's political leaders is something far from happening simply because those political leaders are the ones who are benefitting most politically and financially from the indifference of America oppression.

Control of the population is a necessity now to maintain a level of social divide among the leaders and the masses, which is a sure sign of modern day government fascism, oppression, and public control. At some point, the public sentiment will change outright and the mainstream media will not find positive people to profile on camera, and they will have to hire people to be positive, if they have not already done so.

Source from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content /article/2007/06/04/AR2007060401230_2.html?referrer=email

© June 2007 By CR Hamilton