As goes for most of the things I read, watch, or listen to for this class, I find it alarming how easy it is for the US to twist narratives to make us seem like the heros of every situation, when in reality we are very often extremely hypocritical and in the wrong. For another class I’m currently taking about cultural pluralism and nationalism, we learned that one of the most effective ways to indoctrinate nationalism into the minds of the people of a given nation is through public education, setting the standards of what our kids grow up learning about the country we live in. It makes sense that we, as a general population, tend to have such strong sense of patriotism in 0ur domestic and foreign affairs, seemingly, from what I’ve heard from people who live in or have traveled to another country, more so than what is typical. The way we learn history in the United States paints us as the best country in the world, effectively making the geneal population believe this to be true, whether or not it is.
Another thing I found particularly interesting from Zinn’s chapter “A People’s War?” was the idea that the United States would go out to protect right-leaning governments. I guess when thinking in the context of the general red scare and fear of liberal radicals it makes sense that we would support those who lean farther right, but it was a little eye-opening to see it phrased so boldly. I never considered the United States as a country or our government to sway towards any ideology or political affiliation outside of whichever party had control of the branches at the time, but when you take a step back, it makes sense that we would be considered right-leaning. Perhaps it’s just the extra division these days that causes the connotation, but I feel a little uneasy living in a country that openly is defined and will openly financially support right-wing dictators and military states all for the sake of avoiding the widely-feared left.
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