Freedom Rider: Do Americans have no shame?

The charge that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election is presented as fact in the corporate media and by the Democratic Party. Their collusion accomplishes two goals at once. The imperial project which has long sought to weaken Russia is given legitimacy. The Democrats divert attention from years of electoral failure which culminated in Donald Trump’s victory. Democratic Party rank and file members seethe about Vladimir Putin’s alleged misdeeds when they ought to ask their leadership hard questions.

Something is seriously amiss when Congressional Black Caucus talking points enshrine the FBI and CIA as beneficial and reliable sources of information. Democrats irresponsibly speak of an “act of war” and in so doing may bring about the real thing. The corruption and overreach are obvious but there is another important issue that has gone unaddressed.

Why is it worse for Americans to suffer a fate their government has meted out to others all over the world? The list of coups, invasions, and electoral fraud committed against other countries by the United States is a long one and encompasses every continent on the planet. American expressions of outrage should not be taken seriously.

The United States directly subverted the will of the Russian people in 1996 when Bill Clinton’s operatives assisted Boris Yeltsin’s reelection campaign The current animosity between Russia and the United States results in large part from interference in Ukraine which ousted president Victor Yanukovych in 2014. The coup would not have taken place absent Obama administration support. If anyone should be crying about interference it is the Russians.

But the list of skullduggery is ignored in favor of argument about what is provable and what is not. There should also be discussion about why Americans refuse to acknowledge the wrongdoing they support either tacitly or actively. There is an opportunity being missed, an opportunity to express contrition and to change the temptation for Americans to support their government’s worst acts.

Many of the liberals so quick to cast aspersions at Russia are also quick to support American state sponsored violence. Some of those who said Trump is “not my president” applauded his bombing of a Syrian air base.

It is time for Americans to grow up but that is easier said than done in a country for which historical amnesia is a founding principle. Most liberals want to be flag waving patriots and they are loath to concede the wrongdoing which goes on in one presidency after another. They refuse to admit their own complicity in excusing war crimes with vapid talk of lesser evils.

If Americans are so upset about the prospect of being treated the way their government treats millions of people they should always condemn these violations. They ought to foreswear support for the wars of aggression committed in their name. Democrats go on foolishly speaking of an “act of war” committed by Vladimir Putin. This latest propaganda term is not just stupid, it is extremely dangerous and posits that Americans have rights that they do not accord to others.

So far this year there have or will be marchers wearing pink hats, supporting science or fighting climate change. There ought to be a march of apology from Americans to people in Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, and yes in Russia too. Millions of people have lost their homes, health and lives whenever an American president decides that another leader “must go” or claims that national interest demands intervention or endless war.

It is time for people in this country to stop acting like aggrieved children. The temper tantrums about their sovereignty and their democracy are not just hypocritical but also tell lies about how this political system really works. There isn’t any democracy left for the Russian government to damage. And even if there were, America’s guilty behavior abroad makes a mockery of it.

If Vladimir Putin hatched a plot to get Trump into office he didn’t do anything worse than American presidents have done. People in this country ought to reflect on their history instead of behaving as if they are entitled to rights they routinely disregard elsewhere. The Russia haters must stop whining about their supposed grievance. But first they should apologize to people around the world and fight to stop America’s attacks on them.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well as at freedomrider.blogspot.com. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.