Empire's Dream

Author: Xie Tao et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-05
Features: The history of the United States over more than 200 years has been a process of striving for independence, westward expansion, overseas expansion, rise in power, confrontation with the Soviet Union, and global dominance. In the new century, the United States' imperialistic attitude of self-righteous supremacy has become even more apparent. This book focuses on exploring the practical factors that will hinder the United States from achieving its unipolar hegemony and why its ambition is destined to fail. The United States' pursuit of unipolar world dominance is an undeniable fact. The United States now not only possesses the hard power to realize this ambition but also seems to have the corresponding soft power. However, to assume that the United States can truly achieve this dream would be overly subjective. This book focuses on discussing the practical factors that will hinder the United States from achieving its unipolar hegemony and why its ambition is destined to fail. · Saying it with eyes closed: We are the center of the world. Later, the Americans had some new changes. The French newspaper Le Monde on August 20, 2004, published an article titled Signs of Hope: Recent public opinion polls conducted by the reputable Pew Research Center show that foreign policy issues are now ranked among the concerns of Americans, second only to economic issues. A significant factor in this change is the U.S. military's entanglement in the Iraq quagmire and the impact of the September 11 attacks. This shift in public opinion is unprecedented since the Vietnam War. Several numbers can illustrate the change in U.S. public opinion: Now, 46% of Americans believe that foreign policy and terrorism are the most important issues facing the country, while only 26% consider the economy the most important issue. Among Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center, 67% believe that the United States is no longer as respected in the world as it once was, and 49% believe that the United States should consider the interests of its allies more in the future. The September 11 attacks and the troubles of the Iraq War have made the confused Americans just begin to open their eyes: international relations have started to become a part of American political life, which is a good thing. 88% of Americans believe that "protecting the United States from attacks by terrorists" should be the top priority of U.S. foreign policy. Before this, international issues had always played a minor role in U.S. policy, while economic issues had always been the center of national debate. What were the Americans like before? It can be said that Americans not only did not fully understand what was happening in other parts of the world but also seemed to not care about such a result. Because the United States is the world, and the world is the United States; the world cannot do without Americans. Other nations and countries are insignificant, and many Americans have barely realized the existence of the outside world. This is the common mindset in today's American society. A musician named Luis from Seville, Spain, once shared a story: Several years ago, I went to Tennessee to attend my sister's wedding with an American. When people heard my accent, they asked where I was from. I said I was from Spain. They laughed, and the Americans asked kindly, "Is that place not in Mexico?" They were not joking. Sometimes, even influential Americans have very little understanding of the outside world. Former President Ronald Reagan made "immortal remarks" after his visit to South Africa. He told reporters, "You would be surprised to know that there are all independent countries there." George W. Bush, who often embarrassed himself by saying the wrong thing, had only traveled abroad three times before becoming President. As a leader, regardless of his qualities, in this regard, the young Bush perfectly represented his nation. Because only 14% of Americans hold U.S. passports, and only about 10% of the population has traveled abroad. Even a U.S. Ph.D. student could not accurately point to the location of Iraq on a map. The United States shares borders with Mexico and Canada, but many Americans merely view their neighbors as honorary, lower-status Americans; in their eyes, as long as these people stay in their place and do not migrate