Where we stand today – Friday, March 13, 2009

International – it’s a mean place out there: There are lots of people out there that don’t like us. For some it’s jealously for others its ideology and for others its just business. Then there are those who, for political reasons, find it expedient to blame everything wrong in the world on the U.S. This includes both enemies and friends. Finally there are those who think of the Western Democracies as weak, effete examples of decay much like we are taught to look upon the final years of the Roman Empire.

Still an awful lot of folks outside the US want to come here, invest here and carry a U.S. passport. It’s become common for wealthy foreign couples (especially from South Asia) to fly in just to have their first baby here, an "Anchor baby," an American Citizen, so should all else fail they will have a way back into the U.S. That’s flattering considering the opinion many of their countrymen share about us.

For all the yelling and screaming in the media about where America stands and is headed people elsewhere believe America is still the best place to be. Take for example, a corner of the world where people of the local culture were expelled and replaced by a different but culturally similar group. We’re not talking about Israelis and the Palestians but rather Tibetans and Chinese. On the 50th anniversary of his exile, the Dali Lama said that the Chinese had turned Tibet into a "Hell on Earth."

The people in the Chinese government are not nice people. Like the Chinese emperors before them the government of the Peoples Republic of China believes in its divine right to govern as they please. In 1949 the government confiscated all western owned property but now they are complaining that their investment in the US, totaling over a Trillion dollars, may not be safe. The Chinese Prime Minister had the temerity to ask that the U.S. government "maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets." Of course the US will honor its obligations, they are illusory anyway. One way to eliminate this debt is to simply print more money. As a last resort the Federal Reserve could simply print money and buy the Chinese Treasury notes. That’ll put an end to Chinese prosperity in a hurry by making their goods more expensive out ours cheaper through inflation.

These are not nice people. These same people massacred their children at Tiananmen Square in 1989, invaded Tibet in 1959 and plan to invade Taiwan as soon as they think no one is watching. These are the same people that have invaded India, Vietnam and even the old Soviet Union. China is a crowded country but claiming jurisdiction over culturally similar neighbors smells of "lebensraum (breathing room)", which is the word Hitler used justified his invasion of Poland.

We need to remember who it is we are dealing with. Not everyone in the world shares our ideals and ethics. What might be considered normal behavior in the US could easily be considered foolish elsewhere. It’s scary out there but they still want to come here.

See
Dalai Lama Says China Has Turned Tibet Into a ‘Hell on Earth’
China Tightens Security in Tibet
China’s Leader Says He Is ‘Worried’ Over U.S. Treasuries