"The Blessings-of-Civilization Trust, wisely and cautiously administered,
is a Daisy. There is more
money in it, more
territory, more
sovereignty, and other kinds of emolument, than there is in any other game that is played. But Christendom has been playing it badly of late years, and must certainly suffer by it, in my opinion. She has been so eager to get every stake that appeared on the green cloth, that the
People who Sit in Darkness have noticed it –
they have noticed it, and have begun to show alarm. They have become suspicious of the
Blessings of Civilization."
posted by homunculus
on Jun 13, 2007 -
13 comments
Freedom's Defenders or Politicians' Pawns? No pretense of protecting Americans’ freedom went into the decision to enter into the
Spanish-American War. It was out-and-out imperialism and nothing more. Veterans of that war may have helped to liberate Cuba , Guam , Puerto Rico , and the Philippines from Spanish rule; but those same veterans then turned around and rammed the jackboot of the U. S. military into the faces of those they had just liberated. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans and Filipinos, who had thought they were being freed only to find out they had merely exchanged one colonial master for another, were killed in their own independence-from-Uncle-Sam movements. When they finally did throw off direct U. S. rule, they were then saddled with dictators of Uncle Sam’s choosing. No credit for the defense of Americans’ freedom can be granted to veterans of this war.
Compare to this:
Gunning For Saddam
We report, you decide indeed...
posted by Elim
on Mar 6, 2005 -
23 comments
In 1898, the United States made a major move in the direction of colonial imperialism with the acquisition of the Philippine Islands from Spain. President Bush, in a recent speech in the Philippines,
pointed to that country's story as a model for rebuilding Iraq. Perhaps
a history lesson about the American and Filipino experience in this occupation is in order for both us and our President. The
atrocities committed during the Filipinos' struggle for independence (including the use of
concentration camps), the
high death toll (between 250,000 and 1,000,000, according to this article), and the American occupation which spanned six decades lead me to question whether Bush is just ignorant of the associations made in this comparison, or if it's a subtle way for the administration to set the stage for what possessing Iraq is actually going to entail. (Most links courtesy of the outstanding
BoondocksNet, a collection of primary and secondary sources related to American imperialism.)
posted by UKnowForKids
on Oct 22, 2003 -
25 comments
