Re: moral judgments and the rule of the powerful

In a message dated 12/29/2001 2:36:15 AM Central Standard Time, Jay@fenello.com writes:
  Hi Jay,

       I have taken the liberty to intersperse comments among your remarks.

> We must move from reaction, to reason ...

[snip]
Why we, why not THEY.  We, being the United States, have been trying to reason with the other nations of the world since at least after WW1.  That was when Wilson tried to get France and Britain to do less than bankrupt Germany by reparations.  The demands of those two nations is, in a large measure, the reason behind WW2.
[snip]

> We must move from competition, to cooperation .

[snip]
The United States has been more than cooperative with the nations of the world.  Take for instance the fact that my government allowed Mexico to nationalize the oil industry in Mexico which had been built up by U.S. companies.  What could we have done?  Invaded, as many other nations would have done.
[snip]

> We must move from win-lose, to win-win ...

[snip]
That sounds like an ideal situation.  Unfortunately we are not living in an ideal world.  All other nations operate on a win-lose program and so must the United States or cease to exist.
[snip]

> And we must be fair ...

[Oh yes, by all means let's be fair.  Like France was when she demanded payment in gold for debts owed to her by U.S. firms.  Yet France NEVER paid any large portion of the loans she owed the U.S. from WWI, not to mention WW2.  The best friends of the United States since WW2 have seemed to be the enemy nations of that war, Germany and Japan.  
[snip]

> Jay.

  Gordon Hale