USA? USA?

Everyone wants to be American, or at least they used to want to be. We were ahead by leaps and bounds in democratic politics, defense, economics and even pop culture. Not that we aren’t still in great shape, but we’re not perceived as the sole leader in everything anymore. The USA is no longer the designated driver for the world coach. How can we amend this?

We need to whip out the crazy card.

I’m not talking Kim Jong-il style by threatening with nukes and all that good stuff. But let’s face it. We have been a little wimpy lately in the world stage. For example, today
“Turkey criticizes Obama admin as weak during Armenia vote” as per one of the headlines. Yeah...because Turkey is really in a position to criticize the US at all. But they think they are, and that is a bad, bad thing. Turkey believes that it can bully the Obama administration into siding with them politically after the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs just adopted a new resolution to have Obama recognize the Armenian Genocide.

There was also a good article on the situation in this week’s Economist about the situation.

“TWO questions faced an American congressional panel on Thursday March 5th as it considered the mass killings of Armenians during and after the first World War by forces of the Ottoman Empire. First, was it genocide? The historical debate is as hot, and unsettled, as ever. Armenians continue to insist that it was the first genocide of the twentieth century, while Turks call the killings merely part of the chaos of the break-up of empire.”

Man up USA. You are getting a perfectly legitimate spanking by Turkey, a country that can’t even successfully gain full entry into the EU. I understand Obama’s hesitation in labeling the “event” as genocide because it could alienate US-Turkish relations. Turkey is a strategic actor due to several factors, namely its proximity to both Europe and the Middle East, as well as its mixture of Christian and Muslim influence, and of course it’s potential for resources like oil.

But while these are all important factors to consider, if the US does alienate Turkey, in my opinion, Turkey is just going to try harder to get on ours (and by extension) Europe’s good side. We should stop being so chicken and tell Turkey that the mass slaughtering of thousands of Armenians was in fact ethnic cleansing and genocide.

We need to call it as we see it, without fear. We are the bold US of A, let’s not forget that. I think America would get some much due respect for a statement of that nature and it would show the world that the US is not afraid to do what is right because of what others think of us. We just need to be perceived as a little crazier. A little more unpredictable. A little less concerned about politics and more concerned with real issues. Then other nations won't mess with the best unless it is an issue that truly demands US attention and rationale.