General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Fmr FBI agent: "The White House let them off the hook." [View all]YoungDemCA
(5,714 posts)Including (perhaps especially) the United States government. Was this country not founded on the viciously brutal enslavement of African peoples in the name of white supremacy, or the effective genocide of Native peoples, and the exploitation of the poor and downtrodden in general? And this has continued throughout history, with our governments's actions during the Cold War being especially abhorrent.
As tempting as it is for the U.S. to throw stones at the Saudis for sponsoring terrorism, our government - and by extension, our country - is living in the biggest glass house on the planet. And us ordinary Americans, far from being passive bystanders in all of this, have actively benefited from the violence against and exploitation of others, both "at home" and around the globe. This is particularly true if you're white, male, straight, cisgender, and/or middle-class (I'm not including the American upper class in "ordinary Americans" because while they obviously benefit the most from the current state of affairs, they are not ordinary, by definition). We all have at least some degree of responsibility for what has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen in this world.
I have no illusions about any of this, and there can be no room for naivety or idealism when dealing with the harsh, cruel, deeply cynical realities of politics. This applies to both American politics as well as international politics. Anyone telling you that there is a one-size-fits-all solution (like say, voting for the "right" presidential candidate, or the U.S. government declassifying the infamous "28 pages" re: 9/11 and Saudi Arabia) is selling you horseshit.