Recently, many young people are misled by liberal social science. They want to change as quick as possible. They believe policy fit idealism always works (e.g., free tuition for public college; accept as many refugee as possible). They want to criticize history events and history heroes using today’s standards (e.g., many students in Yale want the name of President Wilson be removed from the campus). Additionally, some just want to change so that they can take advantage under the slogan of love, fair and share.
A country as big as USA is similar to a fast running train. It is painful to feel that speeding is dragged behind. However, it is more painful for the train to be derailed due to fast braking or fast turning.
Idealism often leads to bad results. Revolution introduced more problems than problems solved. Communism movement has given us a failed example of idealism, which got into power just 100 years ago and phased out just 30 years ago.
Some people used some “dark side” of USA history to mislead young people. First, every person who succeeded has dark side of his past. Also, every country has its dark sides in history. Sure, we should reform so that we do not repeat the “dark side”. However, it is not wise to use confirmed or not confirmed “dark side” of our history to remove our respect and pride for our precedents, or even worse dissolving unity among the people. More importantly, the success of this country has not been determined by such called “dark sides”.
Fact 1: black slave
I admit that AA had not been treated nicely or fairly. However, exploitation of them is not the keystone of the economy development of this country. First, this country became one of top developed countries mainly because of the industrialization, which mainly occurred in north with white workers, but exploitation of black slaves mainly occurred in the south farms. Second, black people were treated even worse in their homeland. Third, African rulers who had exploited their citizens more cruelly had not developed any successive country.
A similar story: there are about 400 K Chinese came to USA ~ 1850 and were used similarly as slaves to build the railroad from east to California. They had not been treated nicely and fairly either. The same argument: first, poor Chinese ~ 1850 in China itself were treated even worse than these Chinese in California. Many of them were admired as “successive men” in their villages because of the gold coin they sent back, which worth a lot in China. I have heard such heroes in villages <5 miles from my village. Second, they could not accomplish any if not worked in the system of USA. There ~ 400 million people in China then. At least 10% (~ 40 million) worked similar to salve as these Chinese in California. There was no railroad or other engineering projects built ~ 1850 in China.
Fact 2: USA took Texas and California from Mexico directly or indirectly by imperial invasion. These two states contributed a lot to USA.
Texas and California are not better in natural conditions than the lands in today’s Mexico. Why Texas and California became rich and Mexico did not? One explanation for the success of USA is that USA contacts both Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Does Mexico contact both Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean too?
Fact 3: USA policing the world
If USA does not do anything to a world crisis, many people will complain that USA is not responsible as the #1 power in this world. Such a dilemma of many liberal people is similar to a joke: “many wish God sees any good thing he did, but blind to any bad thing he did”.
I agree that, as #1 power in the world, USA polices the world based on not only righteous principles but also its interest. But, what is the alternative? The world has experienced the leadership of Russia when Russia was strong (1930-1990). AS a Chinese, I have read about the leadership of Strong Japan in East Asia (1850-1945). Japan tried to be leader in East Asia, but so brutal to Chinese, their biggest neighbor. The hate between these two countries will not dissolve in 100 years. Some people expect the leadership of strong China. I am not optimistic about it. As we have seen, while USA can have peace with its neighbors, China has trouble with most of its neighbors.
I do agree: 1) the difference among people’s income is too big. With the progress of globalization, the benefits are almost all taken by businessmen and management elites, but little to workers. USA should help poor workers, not just have welfare for unemployed and economy expansion for businessmen.
