It’s absurd to feel guilty about 200 year-old crimes while ignoring the West’s recent destruction of Iraq and Libya
"By focusing on the historical crimes of Western imperialism, we are in danger of forgetting that some terrible wrongs were done more recently in US-led ‘regime-change’ operations for which no one has yet apologized.
We live in strange times.
__________________________________________________________
BLOGGER PART: this is part of an Op-Ed Column taken from RT.com by Neil Clark
None of the images inserted here are included in his opinion.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger.
His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com.
He tweets on politics and world affairs @NeilClark66
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ordinary people are being encouraged, some would say gas-lighted, to feel guilty over bad things done by Western powers hundreds of years ago, over which not even their great grandparents had any control.
Yet at the same time they are expected to ignore or forget about equally awful things which happened in living memory.
The dominant hegemonic narrative has it that exploitative ‘imperialism’ – and the attitudes of racial superiority that went with it – ended with the demise of the old European empires. But that is absurd.
Arguably an even worse form of it has emerged in recent decades, one which has caused an enormous amount of death and destruction around the world.
Yet while the ‘old’ imperialism and anyone associated with it is completely beyond the pale, the new turbo-charged, ‘politically correct’ imperialism, which often masquerades under a ‘progressive’ or ‘humanitarian’ banner, gets off very lightly.
Consider what has happened these past 30 years. . ."
Destruction of Iraq
War in Yemen & Serbia
. . . If you’re being cynical, you could say it’s far better for today’s power elites that we do indeed focus on historical figures in funny old clothes from centuries past who did bad things, than those following in their footsteps today. Because if we did concentrate more on current imperialism, the power elites might actually lose their power."
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
BLOGGER PART: this is part of an Op-Ed Column taken from RT.com by Neil Clark
None of the images inserted here are included in his opinion.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger.
His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com.
He tweets on politics and world affairs @NeilClark66
__________________________________________________________________________________
Ordinary people are being encouraged, some would say gas-lighted, to feel guilty over bad things done by Western powers hundreds of years ago, over which not even their great grandparents had any control.
Yet at the same time they are expected to ignore or forget about equally awful things which happened in living memory.
Arguably an even worse form of it has emerged in recent decades, one which has caused an enormous amount of death and destruction around the world.
Yet while the ‘old’ imperialism and anyone associated with it is completely beyond the pale, the new turbo-charged, ‘politically correct’ imperialism, which often masquerades under a ‘progressive’ or ‘humanitarian’ banner, gets off very lightly.
Consider what has happened these past 30 years. . ."
Destruction of Iraq
War in Yemen & Serbia
. . . If you’re being cynical, you could say it’s far better for today’s power elites that we do indeed focus on historical figures in funny old clothes from centuries past who did bad things, than those following in their footsteps today. Because if we did concentrate more on current imperialism, the power elites might actually lose their power."
__________________________________________________________________________
