Why do People Hate Americans?
By C. René Padilla
I had my first lesson in “Might makes right” when I was in primary school. One of my peers in a class of about thirty kids made a name for himself because he was able to beat anyone who dared to stand in his way. He was tall and strong, the class bull. Most of our classmates made every possible effort to insure his friendship or at least not to be an easy object of his wrath.
I learned the meaning of “Might makes right” one day when the bully was dealing in a rather unfriendly fashion with one of my friends. “That is not right!,” I protested. That was enough—before I could realize what was happening, his might fell upon me and, with a sore cheek, I was reduced to silence. That was, of course, his way of proving that he was right.
Guess what most of my classmates thought about the strong boy. Some of them obviously wished to be like him: they were attracted not so much by him as a person, but by his ability to impose his own way. The large majority of the kids, however, despised or even hated him, but made sure that their feelings remained unknown to him.
Could it be that the reason why “people hate Americans” is that in the classroom of nations the United States oftentimes exhibits the kind of behavior that people associate with the idea that “Might makes right”? In answer to this question, let me make two comments.
In the first place, we must make sure that the question “Why do people hate Americans” is regarded as a real question, not as a statement of fact. If it is regarded as a question, the way is open for an honest inquiry into the reasons behind a very common attitude toward Americans in general. If it is regarded as a statement of fact, the natural reaction to be expected on the part of most Americans is a defensive attitude. Are we really willing to explore why so many people (not everybody, to be sure) around the world strongly reject the way in which the United States government, with the acquiescence on the part of a high percentage of American citizens, behaves with the rest of the world?
Willingness to explore this subject requires setting aside a myth which is accepted by the majority of Americans—that among the wealthy countries, the United States excels in generosity toward the so-called underdeveloped nations. The figures show that this is simply not true—in percentage of GNP, the United States ranks last among the main donors of foreign aid! To be sure, looking for evidence to prove or to disprove that this is so would be time-consuming, and let us face it: How many Americans are interested enough in these issues to invest time to find out the international impact of their country´s behavior? The common lack of interest among Americans in international issues leads them to a false perception of themselves and is beyond doubt one of the main reasons behind the arbitrariness which oftentimes characterizes U. S. foreign policy. Self-righteousness is conveniently supported by the capacity to remain oblivious to world problems, some of which are in fact the intended or unintended result of U. S. behavior.
The problem posed by this general lack of interest in what is happening outside the United States and in the negative role that this country frequently plays on the international scene is compounded by the kind of foreign service that can be expected of people who all too often are well represented by the figure that almost half a century ago William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick described as “The Ugly American”. Based on real facts, their best-selling novel brought into relief the appalling inadequacy of the preparation required for the appointment of American citizens to service overseas. According to Lederer and Burdick, the serious deficiencies of the diplomatic system were clearly illustrated by the recruiting pamphlet issued by the State Department, which underlined the benefits of the diplomatic career but did not have “a single word which indicates the work will be demanding.” No reader can miss the irony of their conclusion: “It is a pamphlet designed to attract mediocrities. We believe it is successful.” The Ugly American shows that the distorted self-image and the accompanying parochialism that anyone visiting the United States today can easily detect as common American traits have a long history—they were patently present in Cold War times. The question is whether any improvement at all has been made in the recruitment of foreign service personnel in a world where human rights are openly violated under the guise of fighting terrorism.
In the second place, the main reason for the growing animosity toward the United States all over the world is what U. S. Senator J. William Fulbright has called the “arrogance of power”, which is closely combined with hypocrisy. The arrogance of power is clearly illustrated by U. S. foreign policy. The history of the relations between the United States and the Latin American countries is to a large extent a sad demonstration of the priority that the U.S. government gives to its economic interests over against the well-being of people living in these countries. Time after time, freedom and democracy have been and continue to be used as a veneer for an interventionism aimed at the preservation of special privileges for the wealthy and the powerful at home and abroad.To complicate things even further, after the 9/11 attacks the United States government has transformed its traditional “self-assigned Messianic role in world affairs” into a license to make of state terrorism a basic aspect of its foreign policy. Fully committed to the idea that “Might is right”, it claims, however, to uphold human rights and to be engaged in a humanitarian war against terrorism. Hypocrisy has thus become officially institutionalized. The United States has become known all over the world as a country that pays lip service to human rights, but feels free to abstain from signing international treaties, to pay no attention to United Nations decisions and engage in preemptive wars, to practice surveillance of both foreign nationals and U. S. citizens without proper judicial authorization, to set aside the Geneva Conventions and use torture (or transfer prisoners to countries where torture is habitually practiced) as a means to extract information.
In his recent book Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis, President Jimmy Carter describes the rise of religious fundamentalism—“rigidity, domination, and exclusion”—in Christian circles (including his own denomination) in the United States and claims that
"During the last quarter century, there has been a parallel right-wing movement within American politics, often directly tied to the attributes of like-minded Christian groups. The revolutionary new political principles involve special favors for the powerful at the expense of others, abandonment of social justice, denigration of those who differ, failure to protect the environment, attempts to exclude those who refuse to conform, a tendency toward unilateral diplomatic action and away from international agreements, an excessive inclination toward conflict, and reliance on fear as a means to persuasion."
This is an apt description of the behavior of a bully nation in a classroom of nations in which there is only one superpower—a “hyperpower”, indeed. An increasing number of people all over the world view the United States as a “rogue State”. Should we be surprised that so many people (not all, by any means) hate Americans?
If the arrogance of power provokes resentment and even hatred, the way to work for world peace is not ethnocentric patriotism on the part of Americans, nor anti-American nationalism on the part of people from other nations. The way to work for world peace is the recognition, on the part of U. S. citizens, that –as Senator Fulbright put it—“the measure of [Americans’] falling short is the measure of the patriot’s duty of dissent” and, on the part of citizens from other countries, that the recipe for nation-building is not independence but interdependence. For those of us who regard ourselves as followers of the Prince of Peace these are certainly the first steps in a long and difficult journey.
Comments
Rene Padilla, you have no idea who I am... and quite frankly you do not have the right to speak against my country in such divisive and destructive ways. I was there for 9-1-1 giving of my time and energy and love and compassion. i was there for hurricane katrina refugees again giving the same. i've been there, my family has been there, my people have been there and pieces of my family were destroyed over the years because of disasters. i love my country. i love other countries. all i do everyday is take care of whoever God places in my path and i have the freedom to do that in my country. I would go anywhere and do anything for the glory of God and His Kingdom. I have given up all the luxuries of being well off to relocate to an abandoned place of empire. i am living every moment of my life in simplicity and devotion to my King. and i wouldn't follow you for anything right now. the way to "win" the hearts of social justice-minded Americans is not to completely rip apart a great country that has so much to offer. it's not the way to motivate the hearts of Americans, it's just making it that much harder for those of us who live here by tearing apart our credibility. granted, there are some here who i think should just move because as much as i agree with a gospel of peace, i also disagree with any Christian who spends more time tearing apart their country and its government rather than praying for those in leadership and the protection of our country... so next time you want to write an article like that please don't call it Christian. that gives us a bad name. call it political activism. Jesus may not have gone to war and he may have called us to give away luxury and give to the poor and follow him but he also didn't destroy His very own nation which turned its back on Him... he still chose Judas as one of the twelve. did he make a mistake? "Forgive them father for they know not what they do." positive words and pro-active positive moves are so much more powerful and are forces that i can join with... we could really make a difference in this country by living out integral mission among our neighbors, but we can't even establish a foothold and quite frankly don't deserve one if we just tear down a country that is what we call home. i love the U.S.A. and it is my hope that one day it will love the world as much as I do but it's not going to be by your methods.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 13, 2006 12:34 PM
Thank you for the great article. I am an American and I think your descriptions are completely accurate. Americans are acustomed to the unconscious wielding of enormous power, are not touched by the suffering that comes from this use of power, and (american Christians) have confused patriotism and the rhetoric of the Bush administration with Christian values.
Posted by: rob | March 13, 2006 12:36 PM
I don't disagree with everything you said, but it concerns me that your analysis is not based on Scripture, it doesn't even reference God's Word. That surprises me coming from you. I understand you're trying to describe a situation, not necessarily to endorse a position, but you missed a great opportunity to teach others about this situation through the filter of THE Truth. To me, most of this article then is reduced to mere opinions. I could write a lot of opinions about the history of Islam's hatred, persecution, discrimination and destruction of those who disagree with them from the very beginning of Mohammed's "ministry." This before there were any empires or superpowers to utilize as excuses for their imperialistic advances.
However, I'd rather reflect on God's love for all muslims and his desire to use them for His Glory.
Posted by: anonymous | March 13, 2006 12:36 PM
A response to the first comment on this article.
The question presented in this article is not "Do people hate America?", but rather, "Why?" It is a well known fact that people all over the world despise our government for the way it interacts with the rest of the world.
I have no doubt that you have been a servant to your community and country, and I don't think Dr. Padilla’s article claims that there are not Christ-centered people like yourself doing just that all over the US. The question is aimed at our government policies (which are to some degree a reflection of its people, but not in their entirety). The US government has been good to me also; the question is, at what cost to people around the world do I enjoy this security? Is it worth 30,000 innocent people dead in Iraq for me to sleep better at night? Do you really see the US as a country which serves the needs of the world, or one that uses the rest of the world to serve its own needs?
Yes, Christ chose Judas, and Pharaoh, and if you believe in a sovereign God, he chose Hitler also. These men served a purpose far beyond our comprehension, but that doesn't mean that they won't be held responsible for their sins. Nor does it mean that we shouldn't speak out against such people in our own era.
I love and appreciate the country God has blessed me with being a part of, but that does not mean that I go on the defensive every time someone from the outside points out some of the flaws. This is why we have Christian brothers and sister (whether in the US or around the world). It is our fellow journeymen and women who sharpen our walk. Sometime critique hurts, but when the whole world is talking it is probably time to start listening.
To question Dr. Padilla’s Christianity seems rather ignorant to me. I am a pastor in a church here in the US and I have also visited Dr. Padilla’s ministry in Buenos Aires. The truth is that when it comes to being Christian, we in America have a lot to learn from Latin America.
I would suggest checking out McLaren's blog on this website and reviewing the six American Myths listed there. As he points out, as long as we continue to respond to outside criticism with defensiveness we are never going to become the "Christian Nation" we think we are.
Posted by: Patrick Wimberly | March 21, 2006 05:24 PM
I'm just thinking today about all the ways that Western Christianity has screwed up the biblical narrative and used Scripture and the propositions therein to serve ourselves and our own purposes. The worst evil that I think has come out of that is that of "might makes right" or this idea that we as a Christian country somehow have a duty to destroy that which is evil and out to destroy us. Yes, I will admit terrorism scares me and I do sleep better at night knowing that I am safe from it. But what are we doing? But even more present on my mind is why should we expect anything different than the response that has happened? I know this is my mere opinion, but I don't believe it matters AT ALL who was in office on that frightful day, who saw the intelligence, who made the call, because whoever was there in office, would have made the same call. You know what I think the goal should be... to raise my generation and below differently. If we pour our energy and resources into the worldview formation of our youth and families then I truly believe we'll begin to see some amazing changes in the way we operate as a Christian community and as a country. I've been deeply wounded by the church in my (relatively short) life, but I'm not ready to give up on the American Church yet!
Posted by: Melissa | April 7, 2006 11:27 AM
Well done!
Posted by: Eric | August 5, 2006 03:06 AM
I think Dr. Padilla could as easily have asked "Why do people love Americans?" There are a lot of good, smart, kind, loving and caring people in the US. It is an amazing country in a lot of ways, with a lot of potential for good, positive work in the world. I don't think the metaphor of the "classroom bully" is entirely fair. That is a stereotype that may fit some of the time, in some places, but certainly is not an accurate portrayal of the US as a whole.
There are certainly negative aspects to the economic and military power that the US has amassed over the years, and we need to work on those. But to always focus on the negatives is to take a cynical, defeatist attitude. Let's imagine and work for a world in which the US participates responsibly in the United Nations, where torture is not tolerated, where US ingenuity contributes to solving some of the problems of the world, like poverty, hunger, militarism and ecological devastation, rather than making them worse. I say we should build on our strengths, rather than beat ourselves up for our weaknesses. The latter is the path of despair.
Posted by: Tom | October 4, 2006 02:09 PM
I like what you have said, although i think there are many more reasons why Americans are hated. I wonder if it would be possible to make Americans aware of all their 'shortcomings', so that they can understand why people see them in a bad light, and perhaps move in a direction that will improve the world's view on them.
Posted by: Daniel Berti | October 26, 2006 04:56 AM
establish the kingdom
but, with the King of the kingdom.
jona martinez
iglesia de Dios septimo dia
Posted by: jonathan martinez | February 21, 2007 11:39 AM
Where to start when reacting to an article like this one and why even stick one's neck out as one's bound to become a target?
Anyway, the first thing we need to get straight is that there are people who believe they are acting the right way and people who are pretty aware they are not everywhere. Everything comes down to what is considered to be right and what is considered to be wrong in the various global cultures and there, we touch a very sensitive issue. A lot of people do have a good feeling of what is right and what is not and act in a responsable manner within their immediate environment but can one really be surprised that nations express hostile feelings towards other ones if they are being invaded, subject to a regime change, religious discrimination or economical pressure? How many ordinary working people anywhere in the world have the opportunity to spend sufficient time abroad to get akwainted with the way local cultures are being practised in other countries? Because those who don't really are in no position to judge them... We are all living in an era of globalisation which is a game where the most powerfull usually get the upper hand. Let us not blindfold ourselves and fall into a trap of anti-nationalism, racism or whatever other misbelief.
Let us all try and do whatever we can to steer things in the right direction and get to know as much as we possibly can about one another.
Posted by: John Doe | February 25, 2007 08:05 PM
I read what the first person wrote on this site. I am Canadian. I know that might doesnt allways make right. I am absolutely certain that might does and can be abused. When it is abused it is wrong and means others are unfairly on the receiving end of something unjust. If all Americans would understand this then America could start the healing it needs to do. It would interact with the world fairly more often and the world's opinion towards USA would be vastly improved. I have felt that many Americans are blind and oblivious beyond what affects them. A kind of every country for itself attitude and f...... the cripples.
Posted by: kerry toby | March 27, 2007 09:04 PM