Reflection: Week 12 - avq

Reflection: Week 12

           In class, we discussed Columbus’ “chosen ignorance.” However, I posed a question stating, “does the United States also choose to have that ignorance? And if so, is the United States any different to Columbus?” Frankly, I was upset that no one answered my question and proceeded to discuss if Columbus was conscious of his wrong-doings or not. Fortunately, a couple of classmates came up to me and gave me their thoughts. Here is mine:

           I may not be an expert in international relations; however, from what I have seen, the United States loves to bestow their beliefs on democracy and westernization to other nations. In a way, this country is one-sided and finds it difficult to consider other opinions. For instance, consider Vietnam or Japan. The purpose of the Vietnam War was to prevent the spread of communism—which is a political practice. Why did we want to prevent it? Because the United States’ was afraid that this ideology would become more popular than democracy. At this moment in history, the United States is considered a super nation. Not to mention that the USSR was one too. In a sense, during this time, both countries still felt the Cold War tension. It was all about control. To the United States, they saw it as Democracy vs. Communism. Hence, we disregarded the Vietnamese’s desire and implemented our agenda. This was eminent during the Nixon administration. For instance, according to PBS, they stated that “Americans questioned whether the U.S. war effort could succeed or was morally justifiable” (“Paris Peace Talks…”). In a way, could we assume that the administration was choosing to be ignorant? In general, from what I have seen in the past decades, the United States has attempted to implement western ideologies to those who “are not as woke as us.” It is in a way that the United States gives an ultimatum of “our way or the highway,” and most countries do not want to feel the effects of the latter. Also, another implication in the United States’ method of international relations seems that it does not sufficiently respect others’ cultures. In other words, the United States does not effectively communicate and is very one-sided. Similar to Columbus, he disregarded the indigenous people and interpreted them the way he wanted to. Columbus’ objective was to seek gold and spread Christianity. The United States’ objective is to seek power (and oil) and spread democracy (and western ideologies). There seems to be a pattern where history repeats itself. If we do not notice the constant repetition of order, then our race is doomed. Educating those of the past should be one of the front-most essential subjects in schools. That is the reason why I brought this thought into class because we are in World Politics. We must confront ourselves with these questions because, if not, when will we? I have trust and confidence in our cohort, where what is said in class, stays in class. It is a place where we can have constructive conversations where no one needs to have a strong foundation on the topic. If we are not questioning what we learn, then are we truly learning? I hope that the cohort can realize that this community is one to trust and not feel intimidated by each other. ☼

“Paris Peace Talks and the Release of POWs.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/honor-paris-peace-talks-and-release-pows/.