Interesting article in the CS Monitor (http://bit.ly/rtGmwL) on the reaction by a variety of African governments to the Administrations position on protecting gay rights — most of which boil down to, "We think it's icky, so we're terribly insulted by the US position."
Now I usually try to be a polite person, and appreciate that others hold different views, and not impose my beliefs on others. But to me this issue is no different from existing US policy on religious freedom, women's rights, or other fundamental liberties. I suspect those US critics of the policy from the Right who disingenuously talk about this being culturally insensitive and hegemonic are just the folks who would scream if the US didn't concern itself with, say, Christian persecution in some of these same nations.
I don't expect that the US can impose its values on the rest of the world. I do expect us to do what we can to protect people from persecution, and to encourage human rights abroad by our actions. We fall far too short of that in terms of actually living up to our highfalutin' ideals, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Even if it's unpopular. #ddtb
Always a good idea to imprison or execute people for choices they didn’t make. Warms my heart to see this is being done in so many countries.
I tend to agree with you, Dave. I used to feel the US had no business imposing its values on other societies. But nowadays I think we sometimes do too little of it. After all, if we are going to give aid to these countries….
@Paul – I’m not sure that all aid (if any) should be contingent on sharing of our values, or at least not the primary criterion. That’s like feeding the poor but only if they listen to a sermon. And we teach by example as much as by preaching.
But making clear what our values are and putting our money and influence where our mouth is sits a lot better when those values are human rights and freedoms, rather than military sales to juntas and opening up markets for oil companies.
Thank you, Dave. Your comments have been very helpful in allowing me to clarify my thoughts on this subject. I can see your point that we should not make our aid contingent on sharing our values. And I think your example of requiring someone to listen to a sermon before feeding them is spot on.