this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
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[–] Ricaz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 84 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Literally only USA ever thought USA was the good guys

[–] BreakerSwitch@lemmy.world 35 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Ehhhh, we had a perception as the big damn heroes after tipping the scales in WW2 and then with the founding of the UN, being the only member state that wasn't devastated by WW2, positioning us as the de facto enforcer. There was some very limited good work done in that context that got good press in Europe. But we were also overthrowing democratic south American nations nonstop during that time... And everything since....

There have been times that others thought we were the good guys, but they were probably just wrong.

[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

America had a positive perception among the countries it offered loans to help rebuild (Western European countries, Japan). Keep in mind that a lot of the colonial and slavery based wealth that Europe accrued was essentially transferred to the US during WW2. By the end of world war 2, the British empire was essentially bankrupt. Most of the world's gold reserves were now in the US and greater than 50% of global industrial output was US based so the economic outcome was immensely positive for America. It makes sense that your allies would gong your drum when you are offering to finance their reconstruction.

Essentially outside of this sphere knew the US would simply become the continuation of the British / other colonial empires and history has shown that to be true.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Somehow nobody remembers that the nazis literally copied their plan from USA.

[–] dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago

Don't forget Karl May!

[–] blazeknave@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeah... All those deaths at the loss of USAID are evidence that the programs weren't doing anything in the first place.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Wouldn't it be evidence of literally the opposite? USAID shuts down, people die because of it. Therefore, USAID programs were working.

[–] blazeknave@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

It was sarcasm

[–] BreakerSwitch@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

I was reading that one as sarcastic, despite lack of /s And USAID is a decent counterpoint. The US HAS done good things! We've also done a HUGE amount of horrible ones and atrocities. Also we've got a habit of ALMOST eradicating some of the worst diseases of all time from the face of the planet and then going "ehhhh, it's the third world's problem now" so they can come back some years later despite having done 95% of the work.

In the same way that billionaires can do good things, the US can do good things and still be bad. We are absolutely capable of being good. This is a choice.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The USA has funneled tens of billions of dollars into international propaganda, to the point that Albanians erected a statue praising George W. Bush for an intervention he campaigned against four years earlier.

The UK is embarrassingly pro-American, to the point of doing mass arrests of their own citizens for denouncing the Gaza Genocide. Germany is embarrassingly pro-American, with the leading parties effectively operating as proxies for the Biden and Trump administrations. The Italians endlessly pander to Americans for business investment. The Hungarians are barely more than an extension of The Heritage Foundation think tank. Alberta, Canada is fully MAGA pilled, with Ottawa close behind. Argentina is saturated in American fanaticism. Chile just flipped to a pro Trump president. The Philippines and Japan are both climbing onto the bandwagon with India and Saudi Arabia.

It's bad out there, boys.

[–] shawn1122@sh.itjust.works 1 points 21 hours ago

I wouldn't include India in that group (the relationship has soured a bit recently) but your point on the effectiveness of their propoganda is certainly valid.