THE USA’S ONE WORLD GUILT COMPLEX

Anyone remember Bill Clinton’s apology tour of Africa and his ongoing stated remorse for doing nothing while the civil war and mass genocide in Rwanda went on without anyone in the USA leadership (or the West) lifting a finger?

Jacob Weisberg famously wrote in Slate back on April 4, 1998 that:

“. . . (his) apology seems insincere, because Clinton did not offer any realistic sense of the obstacles to humanitarian military action involving the United States. At first Clinton may have wished, at some level, to intervene in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Haiti. But for practical and political reasons, he determined intervention was possible only in Haiti, then later in Bosnia. This was after the debacle in Somalia, remember, and at a time when his popularity was at low ebb. Clinton's judgment that he was in no position to send troops to Rwanda may not have been courageous. It may not even have been correct. But like a decision not to risk saving someone from a burning building, it is not morally culpable.

So why apologize? I would defend Clinton’s apology as a statement of aspiration. He delineates specific actions that he might plausibly have taken short of sending in the Marines. And there is reason to think that with more political capital, no re-election looming, and a heightened sense of horror, he would behave differently.”

(Read his entire column at: http://www.slate.com/id/2309/

I bring this all up because we Americans are now – today in 2011 as well as in the Clinton era – repelled by mass slaughter of innocents in tribal wars or by brutal dictators. Think NATO intervention in Libya. Or the ongoing hand-wringing over the Assad regime’s cruel, inhuman, and utterly cynical policies in slaughtering its own citizens in Syria, even children, who show up on the streets to witness anti-regime protests or participate in them.

Our excuse for doing nothing today? We can’t intervene everywhere. Sound familiar?

But we do have long memories. Even about Rwanda.

Which brings me to COSTCO. COSTCO???? The great super membership store?

Yes, COSTCO.

Because about two weeks ago, while on a Costco run with my wife, we came upon a display of beautiful hand woven baskets made by female survivors of the Rwanda genocide.

And we bought one as a gift. We are part of the “wanting to do good” American mainstream.

On the basket was this label explaining the background of the baskets.

“In 1994, the African country of Rwanda lost 20 percent of its population to genocide and war. The social, economic, and cultural fallout of this tragedy has led to disastrous poverty.

Rwanda Partners was founded in 2004 in Seattle for the purpose of meeting these issues head on. Dedicated to equipping the poor of Rwanda to heal from the consequences of genocide, we work to create new industry and jobs, provide education for children and facilitate ethnic conflict resolution training throughout the country.”

For more information, please visit:

http://www.rwandapartners.org

Also on the basket was a picture card telling us about Ephigenia, who made the basket.

To quote in part:

“I live in Katmusanyi village with my mother and my brother’s three children. I am 47 years old and have been a widow since 1994. I have three daughters who are in school and I am also raising two orphans who are children of a relative who was killed during the genocide.”

And on..except to get to the point: “The money I make from selling my baskets helps with the expenses of raising my children.”

So, COSTCO, thanks for working with Rwanda Partners to appeal to the humanity in all of your customers. I hope Rwanda Partners sold a trunkful of baskets.

And readers of this blog, ask this question of yourselves. Which countries are you prepared to add to the list where we intervene to help? Are you prepared to stay in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from slaughtering the female (and male) children desperately seeking an education, with dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs? The same Taliban whose stated ambition is banning all education for the girls? And training the boys as suicide bombers following a perverted interpretation of Islamic law?

It isn’t easy being a “One World” citizen these days.