Opinion : The American Empire

I just got back from a talk by Dinesh D'souza (awesome speaker, by the way) where he presented the idea of American foreign policy as spreading the "American Empire" among many other points. He repeatedly defended America's spreading of its values to other countries, even if force is necessary. He also alluded to the resistance seen at home and abroad by the critics of this policy. I would like to add my own view to this idea as well by claiming that the ends justify the means, and defining just what those ends are.

So ask yourself, what is the American way of life? D'souza pointed out that democracy is a collective term that goes beyond just free elections and includes things such as capitalism, commercial culture, and ideological freedom. In fact, life in America is more defined by what we consume than what we believe in (for most people at least). Before you say that that this is bad however, consider the consequences to our society. We have the most stable government on earth, the lowest rates of infectious disease and illiteracy, more food than we can eat, and the most advanced technology in pretty much all areas. Our standard of living is ridiculous and our own stupid actions probably represent the greatest danger in our daily lives. Religions flourish despite our rampant idolatry, as does a unique culture (yes, pop music is culture). Our regional differences are put aside in our uniting pursuit of the all-mighty dollar. Now compare this to the rest of the world. Are conditions that good in Africa, South America, China, or the Middle East? Even Europe, with its liberal politics and traditional freedoms has twice our unemployment rate and much more varying standards of living.

So let us consider for a minute a world that was conquered by and turned into the United States. Assuming this world reflects the current United States, there would be much less disease, poverty, and oppression. We will essentially have ended hunger and achieved world peace. Their would be a wider acceptance of human rights and much more freedom, social mobility, education, technological progress, and creative expression than there is in the world right now. In addition, regional cultures can survive commercialism; just look at Japan.

I realize that the US has its problems, but it is still the best system that humanity has come up with. Compared to most of the world, the US is a utopia; and isn't that utopian vision worth fighting for? I like to believe that as privileged as we are, we have a duty to spread the wealth and help others enjoy the freedoms and amenities that we take for granted. Ironically, peace and justice often need to be accomplished through violence. The US itself was forged in a devastating war, and freedom always has a price. In the long term, the ends (in this case peace, freedom, progress, etc.) justify the violent means.

Our current foreign policy may be bogged down in self-interest matters (D'souza denies this), but I believe we as a country need to look at the big picture and start to see how our actions can bring about the greater good. Moreover, the rest of the world needs to take an objective look at what we have in this country, and consider how they can help themselves or people in less fortunate regions.