I received an email with this Robin Williams monologue about how the U.S. should deal with peace in the world by essentially telling the world to screw off and shutting U.S. borders. Of course, it is tounge-and-cheek, and I have not verified whether it is really attributable to Williams. Nevertheless, I think his argument is rather infantile and simplistic. It is the typical “if you don’t like it, then leave” response you get in every wealthy country around the world when someone complains.
So basically he argues that if foreigners complain about U.S. foreign policy, then the U.S. should stop doing all of those things that actually have a great benefit to the world. As I have said, this is rather silly. It is like an abusive father saying that if you don’t like the way he treats you, then you should support yourself; or an abusive boss who tells you that if you don’t like it, then get a different job. The U.S. needs to stop living in the past, for example, by saying that Europeans should thank us for World War II. Just because we do or did some good, doesn’t mean that we have carte blanche. I know you should not bite the hand that feeds you, but just because you give out a few small hand-outs, doesn’t mean that you are free from criticism.
In any event, here is Robin Williams: Continue reading
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