We used to have this thing in the US called the "White Man's Burden". It was, basically, a sort of motto for the domestic and foreign policy at the time and it excused a lot of behavior that would be called illegal in todays courts...ideally. Time goes on and no one ever really mentions the White Man's Burden. That stuff is old news....right? But...I think they simply changed the words. Instead of the White Man's Burden, the US now undertakes the labor of the Policemen of the World. They seek to right all wrongs and make the world a proper place in their image. And a good many things that should be illegal- both domestically and abroad- a practiced in the realization of these ideals. So...would anyone say that it was true that the US is actually still practicing it's "White Man's Burden" policy. Only, it doesn't necessarily just involve white men anymore. "Progress of a kind," as Christopher Hitchens would say...
Rudyard Kipling coined the term when he wrote a poem "The White Man's Burden" in 1899 just before America's colonisation of the Philippines and its original title was: "The White Man's Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands". It was an ironic take of America's colonial land grab in Asia as America had maintained its anti-colonial stance since its split from the British Empire. America's mission to promote freedom came to a temporary halt in the early 20th century and President Theodore Roosevelt was unapologetically imperialist. Roosevelt was active in taking over the island nations of Hawaii and the Philippines to put the country on an equal footing with the European powers and Kipling poked fun at an upstart which was becoming a great power by possessing overseas colonies. Take up the White Man's burden-- And reap his old reward: The blame of those ye better, The hate of those ye guard-- The cry of hosts ye humour (Ah, slowly!) toward the light:-- "Why brought he us from bondage, Our loved Egyptian night?" Take up the White Man's burden-- Ye dare not stoop to less-- Nor call too loud on Freedom To cloke your weariness; By all ye cry or whisper, By all ye leave or do, The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your gods and you. Take up the White Man's burden-- Have done with childish days-- The lightly proferred laurel, The easy, ungrudged praise. Comes now, to search your manhood Through all the thankless years Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgment of your peers!
Wow. Now that's irony. Kinda sounds like story behind the national anthem, where the final version left out the parts that criticzed the US for it's actions against the Native Americans. I think there were a few versions, actually. Not sure which one was the original one, but the older ones had criticisms of the nation at the time.
The US media coined the phrase "Wilsonian Idealism", propagating the notion that Woodrow Wilson set out to "implant" democracy around the world. This was Wilson's "idealism" or "white man's burden" as you say translated from newspeak: General Smedley Butler explained the media's definition of "democracy" when they speak of "Wilsonian idealism": [video=youtube_share;QQoBAc95tnw]http://youtu.be/QQoBAc95tnw[/video]
Yeah, Smedley is one of the reasons I think 1. the "awareness movement" is nothing new. People being aware that their government or rulers are extorting them goes back probably as far as rebellion itself. 2. propaganda is priceless. If you think about how this information could be known, and people either don't care, or still think things like this are "conspiracy theory", you really get an idea of just how effective it is. All I have to do is mention conspiracy theory, and the argument I criticize loses a lot of it's weight, or people distance themselves from it. Quite an achievement.
