Kindly Uncle Sam

THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE FOLLOWING VIEWPOINT:

Some people espouse the opinion that it is alright for the US to advise Latin America on environmental matters. They relate the situation to that of a parent who is advising his children not to make the same mistakes they themselves have. But let’s play the hypothetical situation game. Pay attention to my words here. Let’s say you are walking down the street one day when a rich man with a scalpel runs up to you, knocks you over, and steals your right lung. You survive. Somehow. Then, when you recover, you take up smoking because you are really depressed and probably still in shock that some wacko with a scalpel attacked you on the street. Anyway, many years later, you’re walking down the same street, casually smoking, when the SAME MAN WHO ATTACKED YOU happens to pass by. To your amazement, he shakes your hand, greets you, and then politely asks you not to smoke because your second-hand smoke might give him lung cancer. Isn’t your first impression to tell this guy to bugger off- or maybe do worse? You’re the Latin American nation, your lung was a large part of your natural ecosystem and environmental well-being, and the rich man was US big neoliberal business. Now, reader, can you understand how incredible it is that Latin American countries even listen to what the US has to say regarding environmental conservation?

Look- I’m an environmentalist. I realize that the protection of our Earth is crucial to the survival and happiness of not only humans, but more importantly the astounding biodiversity of our planet. I want the forests to be spared from cutting and the endangered animals to be able to thrive as they always have. I don’t want cyanide in the water supply or pesticide vapor in the air. But I can understand how ignorant it is of the US to give paternal advice to a region it has screwed over repeatedly. Kindly paternal advice is not a proper metaphor here. Instead, it’s more like a father trying to give pacifist advice to the children he has beaten all their lives. Plus, Americans should spend a little more time being active in the conservation of their own homeland before trying to advise other nations in theirs. If and when Latin American countries choose to conserve their invaluable ecosystems, it will be because they will have risen above US hypocrisy and soared valiantly into a better world future.