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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 8:46:22 GMT -5
John McCain and Angelina Jolie wrote a joint op-ed in the NY Times: John McCain and Angelina Jolie: America Should Lead in Saving the Rohingya www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/opinion/america-rohingya-myanmar.htmlMy phone is not letting me cut and paste from the article at the moment, but it's about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Good stuff. (Not the events, which are horrible -- I mean the op-ed.) |
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Post by robeiae on Mar 9, 2018 9:00:27 GMT -5
Once upon a time, I would have agreed with the sentiments expressed in the op-ed. Now? Not so much.
I'd love for the US to take the lead and seriously try to accomplish something in Myanmar. But the US hasn't accomplished jack in North Korea, over the course of decades, as generation after generation suffers. It hasn't accomplished jack in Venezuela, where there is also a humanitarian crisis. Somolia is still a mess, as well, as are many other places.
How long has John McCain been in office? Color me unimpressed. There's nothing new or profound on offer in this op-ed. And it's not like it's being written by wide-eyed idealists.
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Post by Don on Mar 9, 2018 10:04:31 GMT -5
As we'll be repeating often in the near future, one definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Support for yet another intervention in yet another country's existential crisis certainly meets that definition by now.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 10:09:10 GMT -5
I liked the America that used to lead in situations like this, or at least tried. I liked the America that at least purported, sometimes, to stand for humanitarianism and human rights.
I've no use for America First and never will.
I increasingly see little reason to be proud of being American. I expect I'll see still less before things get better, if they ever do, which, increasingly, I doubt.
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Post by mikey on Mar 9, 2018 10:47:39 GMT -5
I liked the America that used to lead in situations like this, or at least tried. I liked the America that at least purported, sometimes, to stand for humanitarianism and human rights. I've no use for America First and never will. I increasingly see little reason to be proud of being American. I expect I'll see still less before things get better, if they ever do, which, increasingly, I doubt. Exactly when were the glory days of America's " stand for humanitarianism and human rights" Cassandra? I've been around for a while now, and I certainly don't recall those glory days. Was it when all those Asians came kicking in our doors screaming CAPITALISM SUCKS! just before they opened fire? Edit; Maybe it was that whole "McCarthyism era" that's staging a come back you're referring to? No, those were not some "good o'l days". |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 11:05:02 GMT -5
I liked the America that used to lead in situations like this, or at least tried. I liked the America that at least purported, sometimes, to stand for humanitarianism and human rights. I've no use for America First and never will. I increasingly see little reason to be proud of being American. I expect I'll see still less before things get better, if they ever do, which, increasingly, I doubt. Maybe it's me. I feel that America is seeking to recreate a bygone era, but not in any of the ways that actually made us a great country once upon a time. |
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Post by prozyan on Mar 9, 2018 11:34:54 GMT -5
The article starts with that quote....strange, I thought around the world people were of the opinion the US needs to stop playing world police.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 11:45:56 GMT -5
I'd like America to stop trying to impose policing on countries just because they've chosen leadership we don't care for or it suits our economic views, but step in when there is a humanitarian crisis.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2018 12:19:27 GMT -5
I'd like America to stop trying to impose policing on countries just because they've chosen leadership we don't care for or it suits our economic views, but step in when there is a humanitarian crisis. But hey, we can't even take care of our own citizens in Puerto Rico, so what am I thinking. I mean, we need that money for yuuuuge tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, arming teachers, HUD furniture, fancy doors, weekly trips to Mar-a-lago, etc. |
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Post by michaelw on Mar 9, 2018 19:16:39 GMT -5
Once upon a time, I would have agreed with the sentiments expressed in the op-ed. Now? Not so much. I'd love for the US to take the lead and seriously try to accomplish something in Myanmar. But the US hasn't accomplished jack in North Korea, over the course of decades, as generation after generation suffers. It hasn't accomplished jack in Venezuela, where there is also a humanitarian crisis. Somolia is still a mess, as well, as are many other places. I think one thing that makes the Myanmar crisis seem more tragic is that--unlike NK or Venezuela or Somalia---Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was supposed to be someone more aligned with the US (and the west in general), given US and European support for her during the days of the military junta. She was supposed to be someone we could work with, based on shared values. And now, it doesn't seem like that's the case or going to be the case in the future, either. That said, there are things that can be done to help, regardless of Suu Kyi not being a willing partner. For one thing, we can do more to support Bangladesh, given that so many Rohingya have fled there, and given that Bangladesh is an overpopulated country w/ limited resources. |
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