In 1913, the US government, under President Woodrow Wilson, invaded Mexico. Their primary goal was to starve President (General) Victoriano Huerta of arms flowing through Veracruz and – eventually – to remove General Huerta from office.
Over the course of his presidency, Wilson also directed armed American interventions in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua. When asked, his general reasoning was “I am going to teach the South American republics to elect good men.”
That’s understandable. I come from a part of the world where we don’t do well at electing “good men” or women. Results are a routine under-performance of our potential in whatever field presents the opportunity: economics, sports, warfare…anything, really.
Take oil. Through decades of massive oil revenues, countries like Nigeria and Angola had the opportunity to future-proof their economies. Instead leadership took the money. Now in the midst of recession, while other oil states rest in massive foreign reserves, we fight to survive.
Take sports. Nigeria showed up to the 2016 Olympic opener in track suits. Every other nation showed up in national pride; while we showed up in what looked like Adidas knock-offs. Our not-so-“good men” failed us… publicly. I’d cry if it wasn’t so funny. Or embarrassing.
More embarrassing still is the rest of the world pointing and laughing at us. We’ve been the laughing-stock of the West, with foreign media eager to judge us as examples of what not to do while nation-building. Our leaders are skewered from The Daily Show to the Wall Street Journal. Policy schools write cases about us.
And they insult us. In 2015, the Economist went as far as to call Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan an “ineffectual buffoon.” I was no fan of GEJ, but still…a haughty foreign publication insulting the former holder of Nigeria’s highest office?
Unfortunately not unique. A Google search will tell you all about the international view on Mugabe, Jammeh, Kagame, and others, talk less of old favorites like Gaddafi. We reliably entertain with our inability to elect good men.
But now there is a new administration in Washington, and within two months, the US has demonstrated many of the same traits that would result in sanctions for lesser countries. The president and his party have:
- Included his family in meetings with heads-of-state, including countries with which they have business dealings
- Filled his cabinet and office with friends, donors, lobbyists, and family members, against promises to “drain the swamp”
- Attempted to blunt the Office of Congressional Ethics
- Lied about a range of topics, from front row occupants at a CIA speech to the size of inaugural crowds and other #AlternativeFacts
- Pandered to dictators and enemies of the US, and leaving long-established allies guessing his motives and allegiances
- Instituted a ban on immigrants and refugees from certain countries, and instituted a form of religious test
In another time, and without the benefit of context, I’m certain the average Senator or journalist would guess the perpetrator of the above to be some out-of-line African of South American dictator. The ICC would take action. The UN would share an opinion. But all would fall silent – as they are now – when the actor was found to be the president of the United States.
The United States government is now sitting in the biggest glass house ever. A good friend of mine put it poetically: “From 2017-2021 The US government has almost no moral/ethical high ground to tell African governments a damn thing about a damn thing. (Not) climate change, corruption, nepotism, despotism, civil liberties, human rights, racism, cronyism, political patronage, business conflict of interests…. yeah… Nope.”
The United States, for now, cannot be the world’s leading light. It has lost that privilege. Long ago I thought a time like this would make me a bit smug, and afford a little tsk-tsking at comfy foreigners who judged from afar; who gloried in their infallible democracies. Instead – like so much recently – it’s just sad to watch.
While I disliked the shame and embarrassment, a small part of me liked that someone somewhere was at least pretending to set an example of “good men” for my own leaders to follow. But where we had Barack we now have Trump and May and such. And a ban on immigrants.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson said “I do not know that there will ever be a declaration of independence and of grievances for mankind, but I believe that if any such document is ever drawn it will be drawn in the spirit of the American Declaration of Independence, and that America has lifted high the lights which will shine unto all generations and guide the feet of mankind to the goal of justice and liberty and peace.”
Cool story, bro.
Tell it to the president.