Inequality in a Global World
The U.S. likes to aid many countries and spend a lot of our budget on military and foreign affairs. As for addressing violations of human rights, I believe that the U.S. should not be active in addressing these issues and instead address the problems within its own country. I think we should only interfere if a country asks us to but not before weighing the options economically and politically. We should also give other countries a say when we meddle in their administrations. I feel that we do not have the right to decide how a country runs itself whether it breaks our beliefs of human rights or not because each country has its own traditions, customs, and culture that we must not meddle with. Also I feel we are too intrusive when it comes to our foreign affairs because I believe each society should decide how they want to run themselves. Who are we to say they are wrong?
The minute the U.S. military gets involved in controlling anything like people or resources, is the minute that we fail to respect norms, values, and customs of people because we are forcibly stripping a country of their rights. Military presence disrupts the flow of everyday life and stirs conflict in a society, even if we do not mean any harm. Constant military interference escalates to either stripping economic resources or a dependence on U.S. support for survival.
Constantly stripping the world of its resources due to high supply and demand from highly developed countries cause there to be poorly developed countries. Because of this, a lot of the world’s HDCs are ethnocentric because with all of the money and power they possess there should not be any starving deprived people in the world.
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Zully, I agree with you, if we can't take care of our own (which it seems we can't) then how are we going to help someone else (country wise). We wasted so much time trying to help the victims of Katrina, but jumped to helping out Haiti and now Japan, where is the equality? We have so many people here that need help, and we are doing nothing, but let's jump to and help out everyone else.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that the U.S. has an obligation to help under or lessor developed countries that are so much further behind in economic, political, and societal standards? After all the U.S. is one of the most highly developed countries so if it only continues to focus on it's national development it will likely get way ahead of most countries. Unfortunately inequality is endemic to every country and will always exist; further development of the U.S. will most probably be in high-sector technological advances, which will increase national inequality.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom I agree completely. I think foreign AID for disasters is great and all, but I think our government owes us a, THE TAXPAYER, aid first and foremost. That is OUR money helping other underdeveloped countries, but WE are the ones paying and I think a little more attention our way is the least the government could do for spending OUR tax dollars. As for our obligation to other nations, I think we do not have any say on how countries want to run their government. How are they behind politically, and societally? By who's standard? It's only our obligation if we have a hand in their countries poverty and underdevelopment. Otherwise, I think right now we meddle enough.(Iraq)
ReplyDeleteZully i agree with you !! I feel as though we share the same thoughts, my blog was simliar to yours.
ReplyDeleteI too feel as though the U.S. should take care of its own problems before we get into other countries problems.
It's like a mom that smokes and tells her daughter not to smoke.
How are you going to trying to give me advice, but you are not taking your own advice.
I do NOT in no way shape or form believe that the U.S. has an "OBLIGATION" to do anything but run its own country. Yes we have allies, but they do NOT belong to us, we need to get our shit together before we try and help other countries.
I agree that it is very important for the US government to engage more fully in addressing internal problems of inequalities within the nation. The US has its own problems to deal with, however I do believe that in aiding our own issues, when another country is going through problems of inequality that obviously go against basic human rights (killing each other, racism) that others should try and help. There is a line that is usually crossed and then ethnocentrism and neocolonialism derive from selfishness but I think that with good intention, countries can help each other.
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