this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
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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.
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.
Somehow nobody remembers that the nazis literally copied their plan from USA.
Don't forget Karl May!
Yeah... All those deaths at the loss of USAID are evidence that the programs weren't doing anything in the first place.
Wouldn't it be evidence of literally the opposite? USAID shuts down, people die because of it. Therefore, USAID programs were working.
It was sarcasm
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.