Speaking Power To Truth

It's not so much calling himself an American (lots of “we” and “us” in articles) though he grew up here and lived as an adult in the United Kingdom. And it can get odd: “Between 1917 and 1920, we [i.e., Americans] did ourselves plenty of harm” — at a time he wasn't born and his dad was a Russian émigré of noble family who fled to Canada. It's more that he flatters the U.S. self-image instead of confronting it. So he asks if “in becoming an empire it [the U.S.] risks losing its soul as a republic.” I don't think Americans need encouragement in self-dramatization and taking themselves seriously. He tends to accept U.S. claims at face value. George W. Bush “risked his presidency on the premise that Jefferson might be right” about spreading democracy around the world. And “the promotion of democracy by the United States has proved to be a dependably good idea.” Look, every empire says its motives are noble (the British “white man's burden,” the French mission civilisatrice). It must be checked against the facts. Maybe Afghanistan and Iraq are cases of democratic advance, but think of others where the Americans helped overthrow democracy: Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, Brazil in 1964, Chile in 1973, Haiti twice in the past 10 years. http://www.rabble.ca/columnists_full.shtml?x=44533 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on December 5, 2005]

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