American History

The challenge for the historian is to locate the greater truth when confronted with multiple explanations of matters in history. Greater truth is derived after analyzing various perspectives for how much--or how little--they tell us about the issue at hand. While there can be outright lies, half-truths and several lesser truths, there is only one greater truth which is based on the preponderance of the evidence and logical reasoning. The American debate revolves around disputed issues, the main one being Americas attempt to be the perfect example and model for the entire world. This ideal has largely given America as a nation the pride and responsibility in demonstrating to the rest of the world the reality of living in a nation that guarantees equal opportunity and treatment for all its citizens in such a way that is fair for all. As a result, Americans express great loyalty and respect for the principles that America was founded on which include Life, Liberty and Happiness and to America as a whole. The greater truth of the American debate is that as much as they have tried to ensure this, they have desperately failed to live up to these ideals. I believe that liberals such as James W. Loewen are true when they state that America is fundamentally flawed.

The fore fathers who founded America did so after what they termed as a disappointment in the rule of the then King of Great Britain. They felt that the King had largely abused the freedom and rights of citizens with his consistent history of breach and usurpations, which constituted a dictatorship. It was from this fact that they left to form a nation bound on the principles of Life, Liberty and Happiness where all individuals would be equal. They wanted to establish a nation of opportunities, which would be the perfect example for the world. They believed in governance where the rights and freedom of every citizen would be guaranteed and a nation where ones dreams would come true. Over the years, it is evident that this has not been the case and as much as America has been in the front run in setting precedence on most of the issues, it has drastically failed to live up to its principles.

This can be evidenced from the fact that America in itself has not been uptight when it comes to protecting the rights and freedoms of its citizens as a whole. Racism was and still is a major setback for America. Many residents living in the United States of America who were and are not white have been subjected to a lot of racism. The major victims of this racism have been African Americans. They initially came to America to work as slaves whereby they not recognized as equal members of the society. They were exposed to a lot of torture, which came in the form of forced labor, physical violence, and racial segregation and in severe cases, death. This was totally against the true ideals under which America was formed. Even after many years of reform, people who are not considered white in America are still exposed to a lot of racism. In such a case, America cannot be distinguished from other nations, which have been in the forefront as been racist. This may include nations such as South Africa and Sudan, which the United States of America has been in the forefront to criticize. It is only until recently that a black candidate was embraced by the American people
America has been the leading advocate for peace in the world. This has lead to America undertaking the responsibility of overthrowing regimes that have been a threat to world peace. However, the saddening fact about this is that America has been very prominent in engaging in war over the years and acts of violence since as early as 1676 where they fought the New England colonies. As much as America has tried to push the agenda that they are advocates of world peace, most of these wars have been motivated by the desire to protect its interests. In fact, G.G Stockay was quoted as refereeing to America as a savage nation with a long history of engaging in criminal acts. He went on to further state that some of the regimes especially the republicans, were motivated to kill and oppress for money. This is in comparison to some militant groups in nations such as Congo and Palestine who have engaged in acts of violence to protect their own interests. Iraq as a nation under the rule of Saddam Hussein engaged in war with Iran with the support of America to finance both the interests of America and Iraq. Off course, America was to later attack Iraq and overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein who they largely criticized as having weapons of mass destruction. They managed to deceive the world into thinking that Saddam was a threat to the world, but the only reason being that they wanted to secure oil reserves in Iraq.

Over the years, America as a nation has totally failed to live up to its ideals of being the perfect example for the world. This has been evidenced through abuse of human rights and freedoms not only in America but also all over the world. All through its participation in these wars, various complaints have been received on how American soldiers have abused the rights of prisoners. This can be evidenced in recent videos of US marines torturing prisoners. The Guantanamo bay has also been associated with incidents of torture where prisoners being held there raising numerous concerns. This is no different from other countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Liberia where citizens and prisoners have been victims of war.

As much as America has been in the forefront in being a model of the world, it is no different from other nations. This is because, leading by example means staying true and in touch with the basic ideal and principles to which the nation was built and making sure that at all costs, they should not be breached. Even if America is recognized as the worlds superpower, it is no excuse to maintain double standards.