One of the most aggravating pieces of American political discourse is a complete lack of understanding for what we look like to the rest of the world.
Yes, it’s fashionable to think that the planet is divided into “United States” and “Not United States” and we can just do whatever we please, but sadly that just ain’t how it is. The world is becoming increasingly interconnected and we have to look at things from a more global perspective. The USA isn’t isolated, what happens here is seen the world over much as how statements by Kim Jong-Il make it into American media.
So I’d like everyone to join me on a little adventure. An adventure to an alternate dimension where the United States isn’t the biggest country in the world. One where all of the actions in the political scene of, say, Pakistan make it all the way onto our shores.
Imagine, then, turning on the television and seeing a candidate running for office there joking about bombing the United States. If their debates were all centered around whether or not they want to strike our military bases. If their allies should do the same and what would happen if the United States were to retaliate.
Imagine knowing that their leaders would never negotiate with our President because he refused to concede to some demand that Pakistan had made. We, as citizens, would then be stuck watching as they spout inflammatory and warmongering desires in the Pakistani media while we can only sit by and hope that either our President recants (knowing he won’t) or the Pakistani government changes their mind (knowing THEY won’t).
Imagine looking at the borders on both sides, where they’d already invaded. Surrounded by Pakistani troops, knowing damn well that they aren’t joking about striking us next.
I’m not talking about this from a policy standpoint, from the perspective of the leaders, but from the people themselves. I can take the same idea and apply it to watching them say the things about, say, England or another ally of ours. The point here is that the citizens of the US (mostly on the right) think that constantly bleating about invading other nations is perfectly acceptable because, hey, it’s us.
We all know damn well what would happen if someone else started doing it. Ahmadinejad doesn’t actually have to even say he wants to attack Israel, he just has to say something that obliquely sounds like it when interpreted in the right way and suddenly Americans are screaming “attack!” at the tops of their lungs.
No one else gets away with platitudes like that, it’s unbelievable that those who shout them here think there’s no problem with it when it comes from us. Frankly it’s amazing that there hasn’t been harsher repudiation of such remarks.
I often think that in the last near-decade, the United States has turned into that hammered guy at a frat party. The one who’s a lineman on the football team and gets drunk then shouts “what, you wanna start??” at anyone who looks at him. Everyone just watches because even though collectively he’d be easy to overpower, no one wants to be the one to approach him for fear of turning his ire toward them. Remember that guy? That’s us.
Maybe I’m a little too cynical, but it almost seems like ol’ al Maliki is getting stronger, more vocal, and more principled as the Bush administration rides into the sunset simply because it’s Bush on his way out. And now he’s, at least implicitly, throwing his chips in concerning the election. His man? 
