Model Student Essay (Anonymous)

In this essay I will disprove the statement: "In its foreign policy, the United States stands for freedom and democracy". This statement, which seems to sum up the "American" way of life and its values of freedom and democracy, is very hypocritical. There are numerous shameful incidents in both the past and the present that demonstrate how the United States is not only hypocritical, but greedy and self-serving. The United States has the audacity to denounce many countries and their policies as barbaric, tyrannical and unjust while at the same time they have committed equal or greater acts of injustice against other countries and even more tragically, against their own citizens. One act of injustice committed by the United States was against the people of the Philippines, during the Philippine Insurrection against Spain.

In 1898, the United States was involved in the Spanish-American War. The war was fought on different fronts; one of them—the Philippines. For over 300 years, Spain had colonial rule over the Philippines. The Filipino people had sought their independence from Spain for many years. Finally, with the help of the United States, independence from Spain appeared to be a promising reality. Filipino soldiers, with the support of the United States, began defeating the Spanish throughout the Philippine Islands and the people of the Philippines were beginning to celebrate their independence as a sovereign nation. Just as the hopes and dreams of many Filipinos were about to be fulfilled, they were soon to be witness to one of the greatest injustices in history.

As Filipino and American soldiers were spilling their blood for the cause of independence, the bureaucrats back in the United States were developing plans of their own; plans that did not include a sovereign Philippine Nation. Around the same time as the war against Spain in the Philippines was taking place, there was also fierce competition for Chinese trade and markets. Europe seemed to have the edge over the rest of the world for trade with China—a secure trade relationship with China also meant the potential for more markets throughout Southeast Asia. The United States, the most capitalistic society in the world, was in no way prepared or willing to accept itself as being a secondary player in the trade with China. The United States saw the situation in the Philippines as the perfect opportunity to become the primary player in the Chinese trade markets. The plan: Establish the Philippines as its base of operations for trade with China and Southeast Asia. The problem: The Filipino people were fighting for their independence from Spain and would certainly object to another country taking control. Another problem: The United States had professed to the world and its own citizens that it is a nation that stands for freedom and democracy and was in the Philippines to help liberate the Filipino people from its Spanish oppressors.

To the United States, these were not problems, but mere obstacles to be stepped over—and that is exactly what they did. In order to step over these obstacles and take control of the Philippines, the United States created its own rationale to disguise its greedy intentions. The United States wanted to appear as righteous and just to its people so they launched a propaganda campaign led by its President: William McKinley. To its people, the United States wanted to appear as a savior of the Philippines. They delivered the message that the Filipino people were ignorant and primitive, incapable of self-government. Despite being advised that the Filipino people were highly intelligent and more than capable of self-government, President McKinley abruptly dismissed those reports; "his eyes were already fixed on the prize". Another distorted propaganda message the United States delivered was that the Filipino people were uncivilized barbarians in need of Christianization—yet most of the Filipino people were Catholic. How selfish and greedy for the United States to distort another country’s identity and integrity for its own gain!

In the Philippines, thousands and thousands of miles away, the United States did not have to worry about appeasing any citizens or twisting its rationalization to fit a selfish motive. In the Philippines, the United States was an invading army. The United States denied Filipino troops entrance into their capital of Manila once the Spanish were defeated. Instead, Filipino troops, who fought relentlessly for their independence, watched in disbelief and frustration as the United States Army marched into Manila and raised the American flag. Demands for answers from the Filipino leaders were dismissed. A Filipino representative who traveled to the United States to discuss what was happening with his country was met with closed doors; President McKinley refused to meet with him. In Paris, where the treaty was being developed and signed to end the Spanish-American War, no representatives from the Philippines were allowed. Not one single Filipino was allowed to participate in talks that determined the outcome of his/her country. At this time it was clear to many Filipinos what was happening: Their country was becoming another colony—this time under the United States. Anger and outrage swelled within many of the Filipino people, especially those who fought and watched their fellow soldiers die in order to attain independence. The swell of anger and outrage could no longer be contained and it exploded into deadly violence—known as the Philippine Insurrection. When it was all over, over 4,000 American troops, 10,000 Filipino troops, and 200,000 Filipino civilians were dead. The much superior United States Army had crushed the military resistance of the much weaker Filipino Army. The Philippines was now property of the United States.

The Philippine Insurrection, as it is presently known, is the most inaccurate and most distorted name given to any event in history. The term insurrection would suggest that the Filipino people were rebelling against authority, against the establishment. The United States in all its arrogance had the audacity to give this event its name and forever etch the history books. The United States, by calling this event an insurrection, felt as if it was the established authority. In reality, the United States stole a country from a people for its own wealth and greed. They disregarded the values that governed their own country in order to increase its status as a world power.

Throughout the history of the twentieth century, the United States has accused other people and other nations for crimes against humanity and yet they still refer to what they did in the Philippines as an ‘Insurrection’. How hypocritical of the United States to have done this! The United States deceived, robbed and murdered the people of the Philippines and they will never be held accountable.

The United States is also a hypocrite when it comes to its relationship with Saudi Arabia. The United States is a country where freedom and justice is its foundation, a country that stresses freedom and democracy in its foreign policy, yet Saudi Arabia treats its women with very little respect. Women in Saudi Arabia have very little rights and have little or no freedoms. If this were any other country, we would see the American President on television condemning that country. We may even see U.N. peacekeepers intervening if this were any other country. In reality, the United States seems to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia and its treatment of women for one reason: Oil. The United States and Saudi Arabia have a relationship—a relationship founded on greed and money. The United States in its relationship with Saudi Arabia is another example of an endeavor driven by greed and power and an example of why the United States is a hypocrite to its foreign policy of freedom and democracy.

How can the United States pretend to have a foreign policy of freedom and democracy when it doesn’t uphold those standards in its own country? How can other countries take the United States seriously in their foreign policy when they see those values failing to be upheld in the United States? Recently, the United States has undergone a tumultuous time in its economy—in large part due to corporate abuse with profits and accounting fraud. It sickens me to watch these executives sit back in their expensive suits and point the fingers and shrug their shoulders as if they had no idea what has happened, yet at the same time there is a man who has lost his job and life savings due to the greed of others. Sure, there are all these congressional hearings, speeches by our president that swear to bring the responsible people to justice; but in reality, nothing will ever be done. All the hearings and speeches will conclude that they have no concrete evidence to proceed with any type prosecution. The irony is that it is these corporations, laden with scandal and deceit, are the ones that put leaders in the United States Government in their positions. It was the millions and millions of dollars from these corporations that enabled many of these leaders to be in office. The trail of scandal may lead very far and deep into the leadership of the United States—so far that the country may not be able to handle such a scandal, thus leading to further problems. It is much easier to deliver emotional speeches and highly publicized hearings to create a sense that the United States cares and is defending freedom and democracy. I have a strong feeling that years from now corporate scandal will continue to flourish, yet no one will ever be held accountable.

Another recent event that took place was Steve Fosset’s successful completion of having traveled around the world in a hot air balloon after several failed attempts. To someone hearing this news for the first time, the reaction may draw a sense of astonishment and praise. What really took place was another example of United States hypocrisy. Steve Fosset spent millions and millions of dollars in his quest to become the first person to fly around the world. The media covered his journey as if it were one of the most important events in United States history. Although there may be some merit to the magnitude of such an accomplishment, how can society embrace such an act and how can the media stress its significance when there are people in the United States who don’t have a place to call home, children who don’t have adequate food? Is the United States a better place because an American billionaire fulfilled a boyhood dream? Did his accomplishment change anyone’s life besides his and maybe a few of his supporters? The answer is no. Steve Fosset could have better served his country by spending a tiny amount of his fortune on building some homes for homeless people or buying a year’s supply of groceries for a needy family. If Steve Fosset embarked on these philanthropic acts would he be the same hero as portrayed by the media today? The sad truth is that we probably would not even know that Steve Fosset exists. The sad truth is that the United States is a society where one man can spend millions of dollars on a magnificent yet insignificant event and another man must eat from garbage in order to quell his hunger. Is this truly freedom and democracy?

The United States is a country that has laws, a constitution and a Bill of Rights which preach freedom, democracy and justice—all of which are words written on paper. The United States is a country that is fueled by the need to be the most powerful and wealthiest nation in the world and is selective when applying its standards of freedom and democracy.