Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
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As FAIR (9/30/16) has noted, the most important function of major editorial boards is to be gatekeepers of national security orthodoxy. And there is no more axiomatic orthodoxy than American exceptionalism. One can handwring over “mistakes,” even occasionally do harsh reporting on American war crimes—so long as one arrives back at the position of American moral superiority. “Yes, America has made mistakes,” the good liberal insists, “but at least we don’t do this other bad thing that is, unaccountably, uniquely disqualifying.”
Clearly, Trump’s motives in questioning American innocence were anything but liberal or noble. He was evoking America’s own sins not to challenge them, but to apologize for those of the Russian president and, preemptively, his own. But the outrage over Trump’s comments from pundits and editorial boards did not seek to spotlight his cynicism and its dark implications, but rather to insist that the United States is, in fact, on a higher moral plane than Russia. This is a childish assertion that serves to flatter the ego of American readers while legitimizing their government’s crimes.
NYT: Unlike Russian Wars, US Wars ‘Promote Freedom and Democracy’
Normally I would put the first portions of the article first but I'm counting on people reading the article. It irritates the hell out of me that we have arrived here again within 15 years. This is why our foreign policy never changes no matter who is running the show.
Clearly, Trump’s motives in questioning American innocence were anything but liberal or noble. He was evoking America’s own sins not to challenge them, but to apologize for those of the Russian president and, preemptively, his own. But the outrage over Trump’s comments from pundits and editorial boards did not seek to spotlight his cynicism and its dark implications, but rather to insist that the United States is, in fact, on a higher moral plane than Russia. This is a childish assertion that serves to flatter the ego of American readers while legitimizing their government’s crimes.
NYT: Unlike Russian Wars, US Wars ‘Promote Freedom and Democracy’
Normally I would put the first portions of the article first but I'm counting on people reading the article. It irritates the hell out of me that we have arrived here again within 15 years. This is why our foreign policy never changes no matter who is running the show.
