¶ … United States as Superpower: The Right to Remove Tyrants from Power
Since its pioneering days, North America was known for its ideal as a safe haven for refugees. Furthermore the country is known as the "land of opportunity," embodied in the American dream. While much blood has been shed along the way towards true freedom and democracy for all, the United States has continued moving towards these ideals of humanity. Perhaps now more than ever before, the country has begun to truly realize its ideal not only of democracy, but also of opportunity and promise.
This is also why the United States as superpower can now extend its influence to countries in suffering. The ideal of democracy has extended from within the United States towards the rest of the world. This is now at the center of accepted humanity, and all abuses of human rights are frowned upon by most of the free world. From this point-of-view then, the influence of the United States in countries such as Iraq can be justified. Women and children, along with the lower classes, have been oppressed in an unacceptable manner. Combined with the threat of terrorism to America itself, this gives the President the right to eradicate the evil of oppression in a world and an era where this can no longer be tolerated in the name of any god or any man. Tyrants no longer have the right to do as they see fit without bearing the consequences of an outraged humanity. As benign superpower in the world, the United States is the advocate of this humanity (Walker).
According to Ralph Peters, in an interview with Jesse Walker, the United States has historically earned the right to bring liberation and self-government to oppressed countries. As superpower, the country is in the position to accomplish this ideal globally. Tyrants can and should be removed forcibly if necessary. This is what happened in the case of Saddam Hussein. Even...
America should never close its eyes to human rights violations in the name of stability. The era of dictatorship is over, and if the armed forces need to be used to help tyrants understand this, there should be no hesitation.
Peters further highlights past U.S. support of oppressing regimes for the sake of material gain in terms of mining, oil, and the like. He emphasizes that these are short-term gains, and that supporting human rights is far better for both long-term politics and business aspects. The positive sentiment attached to human rights supporters will eventually provide a favorable outcome, whereas short-term solutions such as oppression are bound to be overthrown.
Supporting oppressive regimes for whatever reason communicates a dangerous message to existing and potential oppressors. The message instead needs to be that no people should be oppressed on the grounds of sovereignty (Walker). The United States therefore needs to set the example for the rest of the world. Preaching liberation and democracy while supporting the opposite of this for financial gain is nothing short of hypocritical. The time has come for the United States to rise above hypocrisy and to stand firmly behind its ideals.
Along with its status as superpower, another element counting in America's favor on a global scale is the diversity of its population (Shuja). Its very reputation as a country offering opportunities and dreams, has attracted a wide diversity of nationalities from across the globe. This provides the country with an in-depth understanding of assimilation, diversity of culture, and issues of importance to each culture. Thus the United States has its finger as it were on the pulse of the globe, and this understanding makes the country an…
