USA: Villain, Hero or both

This week’s reading is entitled Villains, Victims and Hero: Melodrama, Media and September 11. The USA is no doubt the most powerful and wealthy nation on the planet and their influence reaches every country throughout the world. The hundreds of billions of dollars the country spends to help nations around the world has given the belief that the US is helping to keep the world safe and at peace, making them a global hero. But is this belief true? Is the US actually helping or are they hurting the world? Just like Superman and Spiderman, many of the people around the world are asking if the hero is doing more harm than good.

In Spiderman 2 Peter Parker finds himself in a situation where the people no longer believe that he is a hero. Despite all the good things he has done for the people, Spiderman is now seen as a villain in the eyes of the public. Today we are seeing the same problem facing the USA as they try to police the world and make it a safer place for everyone. But like many things the way you view the US depends on your personal perspective. A woman who is saved by Spiderman is more likely to view him as a hero and not a villain. The same goes with the US, people who are saved by the good things they do by policing the world are more likely to see them as hero’s.

Places like Afghanistan and Iraq are seen as being saved by the US government. They have taken a terrible dictator out of power and have been seen as bringing peace to Iraq. But with seven years of war, are they really making Iraq a more peaceful place? Throughout the Iraq war it is said that just over 4,000 US military soldiers were killed in action. But how many innocent Iraqi citizens died in the invasion? These are questions that many people are now asking themselves as they look at the US as a hero or a villain. Just like Spiderman the good things done by the US cannot go overlook, but many of the USA’s good intentions sometimes turn into bad situations.
The article discusses how the world felt bad for the USA on 9/11. There is no doubt that the events that occurred on that day were terrible. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives for no reason and no cause. Some will say the US got what they deserved. Conspiracy theorists will say the US did it to themselves. Others will say it was a terrible tragedy and those responsible need to be brought to justice. Whatever you believe is your personal choice, but there is no doubt those events changed the world forever.

Whether you think the US is a superhero or a villain you must believe their actions on the world stage have changed the world forever and have touched the lives of billions of people, whether it is in a good or bad way.

-Curtis Thompson