David, I agree with your foreign students that there is a dark side to American foreign policy and it is darker than many Americans realize. The USA had taken part in dozens of overt or covert interferences in foreign countries and their governments and/or elections since the beginning of the last century. And while Americans críticize authoritarian governments like China, which lack elections and freedom of expression protected by a Constitution, in counterpoint, China has not
been involved in such interferences in foreign countries and their governments/ elections.
And freedom of expression in the USA is now under heavy assault by the Trump administration and may never be the same if the Republican Party, now the Party of Trump, remains in power. And US elections are heavily influenced by corporate campaign financing.
So morally speaking, I don’t think the US government/polítical system is on a higher moral ground than say the Chinese government/political system, a viewpoint that I think is shared by few Americans, brainwashed by the “Shining City Upon a Hill” myth, spread by Reagan and other politicians before and after him.
David, I agree with your foreign students that there is a dark side to American foreign policy and it is darker than many Americans realize. The USA had taken part in dozens of overt or covert interferences in foreign countries and their governments and/or elections since the beginning of the last century. And while Americans críticize authoritarian governments like China, which lack elections and freedom of expression protected by a Constitution, in counterpoint, China has not
been involved in such interferences in foreign countries and their governments/ elections.
And freedom of expression in the USA is now under heavy assault by the Trump administration and may never be the same if the Republican Party, now the Party of Trump, remains in power. And US elections are heavily influenced by corporate campaign financing.
So morally speaking, I don’t think the US government/polítical system is on a higher moral ground than say the Chinese government/political system, a viewpoint that I think is shared by few Americans, brainwashed by the “Shining City Upon a Hill” myth, spread by Reagan and other politicians before and after him.
Americans don't like to hear it but this is in many ways an evil empire.
Yes, the “Axis of Evil” countries, labelled by George W. Bush in a State of the Union speech, are larger than those he mentioned.