Hello America

After writing an awful lot about how the upcoming war on Iraq is a bad idea, it’s time to turn my attention to something a bit more positive: A reminder about why the debate is worth having in the first place.
This isn’t about Saddam Hussein, and it certainly isn’t about oil. This is about the heart and soul of the nation that matters more than any other planet, the United States of America. Coming from an Briton, and one that’s happy with his country (and could never imagine living anywhere else – this is my home ), that might sound a little odd. Perhaps you read that and think that somehow I’m joking. But there is no punch-line. America matters, because America is and remains the best and brightest hope for the entire planet.
That’s not to do with its economic, military or political power, although all those things of course matter. What it concerns is the simple fact that the real values of America – tolerance, freedom, and the rule of law – are those that represent the most important things in the culture of the west. Yes, of course America and Americans don’t always live up to those ideals. Yes, US governments have done their share of dirty deeds, from supporting the Contras through to some decidedly murky involvement in Indo-China. But no government, anywhere, is innocent. Sometimes good people do bad things, because they lack the imagination or the intelligence to do the right thing. Sometimes, bad people even do good things – and I’m thinking of that old despot Richard Nixon here.
Looked at historically, no country’s hands are clean. But one thing that any wise person learns is that to bind yourself with your history is to guarantee you never change. And America, more than any other country, has proven itself capable of change, time and time again.
America is our best and brightest hope of a better world. If I criticise the policies of the present administration, I think it’s because Bush and his cronies do not understand that simple fact. I think they undervalue America and Americans, over and over again. By attempting to justify the invasion of Iraq on grounds that are simply false, they lie to the American people, and to the world. But the one thing that Americans have proved themselves good at is finding out liars, and sooner or later Bush will be found out too.