Does the good America has done, outweigh the bad?

US Conservative said:

The world in general.

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There's no way to generalize at all. We impose our will on people who don't want it all the time. Certainly it isn't positive for those people.

US Conservative said:

The impact of the United States of America on the world has been undeniable. In weighing the good and the bad of our nation as a whole, does the good America has done at home and abroad, outweigh the bad?

Is the role of the US a net positive, or net negative in the world?

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Basically, the history of this country is based on blood, sweat, tears and bigotry....First the native population, then African slavery, the civil war, Jim Crow, leaving nations who needed our help to fend for themselves turning them into enemies. This country has done as lot of wrong both inside and outside. Net negative..

shrubnose said:

Some people on this planet condemn the USA because of the good things that it has done. they are on the wrong (Losing.) side of history.

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Yeah like the japanese claiming victimhood in WWII and even that it never lost, such is their deranged sense of 'honor.' Sure, it sucks for the victims of the a-bombs, but there was strategy behind it (it ended the war) and for much of japan to still hate americans while denying such hideous mass murder as the massacre at nanking (more killed than both a-bombs combined)....losing side is right.

OTOH such unnecessary, drawn out, and divisive wars as vietnam and GW's iraq led to mass corruption and murder of civilians by troops both abroad and at home. Doing nothing during the holocaust also falls under the "what good?" question.

Then there's plenty of up and downs like pushing/forcing global trade but also scumbag bankers creating global economic collapse...twice.

Juanita said:

Basically, the history of this country is based on blood, sweat, tears and bigotry....First the native population, then African slavery, the civil war, Jim Crow, leaving nations who needed our help to fend for themselves turning them into enemies. This country has done as lot of wrong both inside and outside. Net negative..

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Slavery and jim crow are definitely disgraces US will never live down, and destruction of native tribes. But pretty much all over the world there was bloody colonialism and religious persecution, mass starvation and a ruthless criminal 'justice' system. British citizens were for example shipped alone and in chains to Australia for 14 years (if they survived the ship) to be whipped routinely, for stealing small amount of food. We all know of inquisition and holocaust and stalin's brutal reign.

But without comparing, US has done some positive too like at least attempt to establish education system, often leading in medical and other science discoveries, and if you're a fan of democracy it was called the "grand experiment" for a reason.

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The concepts of "good" and "bad" are far too subjective to lend themselves to a simple yes/no query. I would also state that the US has done much evil under the false guise of doing something supposedly good.

Since 9/11?

Nope...not even remotely close.

The American Industrial Revolution has brought us AGW. American Corporatism has brought us GMO "frankenfoods." The Monroe Doctrine and "banana Republics" sponsored by Corprorate USA like the Rockefellers. The Military/Industrial/Corporate Complex has brought us continuous War. The School of the Americas in Georgia taught tinhorn dictators how to operate using death squads and terrorism in Latin and South America. What are the body count totals in Honduras, Guatamala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela, Granada, Cuba, Vietnam, Angola, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine, Pakistan, Yemen, and any Nation that has US Energy Corporations extracting their assets (oil, gas). Since it is mostly USA and British Corporations that have birthed and promoted the uncontrolled use of energy that is causing Global Warming, then there also lays the blame. No question the total effect is NEGATIVE. Currently the Corporate/Fascist control of our gov't by big Energy and the MIC is creating Worldwide instability and all in an attempt to save a "fiat" currency backed by a strong military, not by financial prudence and sound investment practices.

Higgins86 said:

I know the UK will always look to the US for foreign policy However the past 6 years has been a mess with no real constant message coming from the White House.

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Yes, they elected a media creation, and not a leader.

And unfortunately that isn't inconsequential.

America has nothing to be sorry for, nothing to apologize about.

Its a vague question and certainly America has its share of shameful events and glorious achievements. Genocide of the natives, slavery, Jim Crow, and a lot of interventionist policies in the 20th century all merit being chalked up as negatives. But establishing a workable democracy and then exporting those values across the world, the countless improvement American inventors, business men, and entrepreneurs have created, playing a key role in the defeat of the twin evils of the 20th century - Nazism and Communism, our many humanitarian efforts, righting some of horrible wrongs of our past like slavery and Jim Crow are all points in our favor. On a whole, I'd say America, while having a mixed record like ANY nation, has been a positive force in the world.

US Conservative said:

The impact of the United States of America on the world has been undeniable. In weighing the good and the bad of our nation as a whole, does the good America has done at home and abroad, outweigh the bad?

Is the role of the US a net positive, or net negative in the world?

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Absolutely a net positive. no question. Most of the net negative is mainly self-inflicted on our own economy over the last 40 years, but internationally definitively better than any of the alternatives available. Most of the net negative has been inflicted by the right wingers and their fellow travelers the brie and chardonnay neo-liberals like Clinton and Obama tag teaming to offshore anything that threatens to pay a living wage, and holding down real wages through inflationary policies and subsidizing and protecting the financial sector to the exclusion of every other sector of the economy. Well, except for the private prison industry, of course.

Here is an interesting take on the reduction of war since WW II:

http://edge.org/3rd_culture/pinker07/pinker07_index.html

In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to exactly that conclusion.

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http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/think_again_war

US Conservative said:

The impact of the United States of America on the world has been undeniable. In weighing the good and the bad of our nation as a whole, does the good America has done at home and abroad, outweigh the bad?

Is the role of the US a net positive, or net negative in the world?

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100% net positive.