USA! All The Way!

Matt Yglesias reads the latimes so i don't have to, and quotes Jon Chait saying

Bush and his supporters act as if anti-Americanism is simply the necessary and worthwhile price we pay for our principled advocacy of freedom everywhere. The truth is that anti-Americanism has prevented us from consistently advocating democracy throughout the world.

... before commenting on the rethoric/facts gap of the u.s. foreign policies.

What interests me in chait's piece is what a great slogan it is - i mean it in the best possible way. Something like "Democracy won't be built on anti americanism." It rolls up in a few words a few things that strike me as very healthy, in today's context :

- understanding anti americanism and its causes would be A Good Thing Indeed, not a sign of weakness
- a proud and patriotic flag waving american should be interested into the way the world sees the u.s., as this will in turn affect the outcome of its policies
- the way to close the gap between idealistic objectives and reality may consists into something else than using the big stick.

Of course there are gaping holes in all this, and geopolitics and that annoying reality. Nothing very new neither.

Still i think it may be worth spreading it, a few words summing up a certain idealism about the u.s. role in the world that had been hijacked by the neocons.

(And no, i don't feel the need to restrain the neocon label to such brand of such straussian obedience, rather than this other. Sloppy me.)