An Apology for America's Values May be Just What's Needed

        Mormon business mogul turned wanton political hopeful Mitt Romney used Tuesday night's attacks on American embassies in Egypt and Libya as a political tool to try to gin up hard right extremists in the middle-states netherworld known as "the bible belt". Before he knew what was actually happening overseas he held a mock press conference and commented around midnight that the United States should not apologize to Muslim people for an insulting low budget movie that made fun of the prophet Mohammed and sparked protests in several Middle Eastern countries. The next morning the world would learn that more than just protests took place and that four American diplomacy officials had been killed, including the Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. But when Romney made his comments, there was no knowledge of such an attack. He was simply speaking about the Obama White House's apologizing about the offensive film. It was strikingly similar to George W. Bush's public apology in 2006 to people of the Islamic faith regarding a Danish cartoon that sparked the same kind of anger in the Muslim world.
         Not only was Romney's middle of the night statement to the media a blatant political low blow not unlike how he's handled his entire race for the presidency, more seriously it showed a genuine lack of diplomacy and leadership skills, for in reality he had no idea what was really transpiring in that area of the world, nor how serious the situation could and would get. Most disturbing it also showed a sincere lack of understanding and compassion for people who hold different values than his own, something that one would hope that anyone with a chair in the Oval Office would have mastered before being allowed to enter the room. So yesterday from early morning till late at night, the entire country was talking about politics -- Mitt Romney and yet another one of his gaffes rather than the fallen hero that few among us knew very well named Ambassador Christopher Stevens. This distraction of the real news story may be the worst fall out of Romney's desperate attention grab. 
         To be sure, no one with a conscience and a love for humanity, no matter how conservative or radical (they seem the same now in America and across the world don't they?), be they Christian, Jew or Muslim, Democrat, Republican or Independent, would condone the kind of violence that was responsible for killing Ambassador Stevens or his coworkers. But one gets the impression that we are dealing with two separate issues here. One seems to be a well thought out and planned attack on a vulnerable American Embassy filled with trusting people in Libya on the anniversary of 9/11. One could call it terrorism. One could call it an attack of retaliation for a devastating ten years of American imperialism and bullying. But no one in their right mind would condone or approve of it. The other issue was the video that upset people in the Middle East so much that they took to the streets to protest.
        One would do well to not jump to conclusions and tie these two separate events together as if they were one and the same. Although the most uneducated on Facebook and other social networks are already doing so, and going even further. One would think that they'd be happy to see the United States enter yet another war and this time take on the entire Muslim world. Last night I read one such unwashed plebeian comment that "it is inevitable that there will be another war between religions. USA!" As if he were talking about a video game marathon in his friend's basement.
        One gets the feeling that the Hollywood film that deliberately insulted the Prophet Mohammed was merely the spark that lit the flame of these new protests and not the sole reason for them. The sulfur on the match-head had been building up and sticking for years, some would say decades. American invasion and occupation of the Middle East has been the most publicly witnessed and talked about event in human history over the last ten years. Nothing has occupied the attention of the world more. One can only imagine what the people in this region feel after years of if. The death toll of Iraqis, Pakistanis, Afghanis, Palestinians, and even whole neighborhoods of people in Yemen and public assassinations of Iranian scientists is so high that it is impossible to quantify by any estimates. As the United States government continues its mission of it's "new American Century", the people of the Middle East watch helplessly in horror as their friends, family and neighbors die all around them.
        To address Mr. Romney's misguided quote in the photo above, one would be justified in responding "On the contrary. If what you mean by "America's values" is invading and occupying other sovereign nations around the world, blackmail in the form of economic terrorism to bring them to their knees, assassinating their government officials or drone strikes in the dead of night on their people... then there's no better course for America to at least start with than apologies." One day perhaps the citizens of the United States will elect a president who understands this. If this person utters those dreaded words "American exceptionalism" then the people will know they haven't found that man or woman yet. The world is waiting for a leader who recognizes and acknowledges "human exceptionalism" and stops the xenophobic jingoistic blind patriotism that started American down this slippery slope many years ago. The term "American exceptionalism" wreaks of ignorance and arrogance, and worse it displays someone who has not traveled extensively or lived abroad very much and therefore really doesn't yet get that we are all the same at heart. It is at best a disrespectful and ignorant phrase; at worst it is downright offensive to people of every other country on planet earth.
          The real issue is at hand is not if the U.S. government should be apologizing, but rather what ELSE can they do to begin to make amends for a shameful foreign policy that has been condemned by every civilized country in the world over the last sixty years. In regards to today's new outbreaks of anti-American sentiment and protests in Yemen, Iran, Egypt and Libya, one might argue that it's about time these countries started sticking up for themselves in the face of such rampant disregard, disrespect and abuse by American forces. The Information and the Personal Expression Ages are finally flattening the global playing field and enabling other countries to mobilize and voice their opposition to tyranny the same way they have enabled American citizens to in recent years. What we are witnessing is the effect of this new found power.
         This is not to say that the United States should not legally track down the killers of Ambassador Stevens and his coworkers and bring them to justice. Terrorism of any kind by any country -- including the United States ironically -- should not be tolerated by the world's governments nor its people. But there are millions of people in these countries where these protests are happening, the majority of whom are innocent. The last thing in the world they need is yet another American invasion or war beset upon them to upend their already fragile lives. There is a difference between hunting down a few militant extremists and starting a full out war with an entire country. Let us hope that the United States government understands the difference this time.
         One day the United States government will realize that it cannot go around the world doing whatever it wants to just because it wants to or has the capabilities to do so. One day the American people will wake up enough to demand it. Until then there will always be anti-American protests in Middle Eastern countries. The real fear that regular American citizens should be feeling now is that these sentiments do not begin to trickle over into other countries of the world again as they had after the ignoble and illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. America has made good progress over the last three years to repair its tattered image on the world stage. Though it has a long way to go before the average citizen of the world doesn't view the American government with more than a bit of resentment and cynicism. The next few days and weeks to come will be crucial in determining how the United States is viewed by its neighbors in the coming years. Let us hope for all of our sakes that the powers that be in Washington are more focused on the long game, on our economic stability in a global economy, on compassion, cooperation and diplomacy rather than on vengeance, greed, oil, power or global dominance.