| U.S. ignorance
Judy Veramendi
May 16, 2004 "chicagotribune.com" -- Evanston -- Regarding the torture of Iraqi prisoners, sadly this news is not news for most of the world.
A Guatemalan nun once told me the following:
"You Americans are just living blindly inside the belly of the dragon.
"I used to hate you for all the destruction and suffering you've caused in every corner of the world.
"In Latin America alone, your government supported the torture and execution of thousands upon thousands of innocent people, carried out by military officials trained by the CIA and at the infamous School of the Americas in Georgia.
"But once I visited the U.S.," she continued, "I realized that most white Americans are blissfully ignorant of what their government perpetrates overseas, and even on people of color within their own borders. You live inside the belly of the dragon and die without ever seeing the damage the dragon inflicts on the outside world."
For a "democracy" such as the U.S., this is abhorrent and unacceptable.
We have been lazily feeding off the belly of the dragon for far too long.
We must educate ourselves about the rest of the world and only then vote in an intelligent, informed manner for officials who will truly represent democratic principles at home and in the rest of the world.
Copyright: chicagotribune.com
|
