Meddling

meddle - to interest oneself in what is not one's concern. Webster's.

There is a lot of talk these days, on the part of various U.S. dignitaries, about meddling. Condi Rice, for example, has warned repeatedly that Iran should not meddle in Iraq. She has also warned Russia that they should not meddle in the affairs of their former satellites. Bush, just yesterday I think it was, warned of "an erosion of democracy in Venezuela and Boliva" (ignore the unbelievable stupidity of this remark) and consider the rest of his statement, they should not meddle in the affairs of other countries. Similarly, Bush/Cheney/Rice/Rumsfeld are concerned that Arab countries should not meddle in Palestine, China should not meddle in Taiwan, and, in general, no other country should meddle in the affairs of the United States, and so on and on.

Is this not carrying hubris a bit too far? What, for example, is the U.S. doing in Iraq if not meddling? What were we doing when we meddled in Iran and installed the Shah? When we meddled in Venezuela, Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Afghanistan, and so many other countries? Indeed, it is fair to say we are the most persistent and troublesome meddlers of all time.

If I were an Iranian, knowing that Iraq was occupied by a hostile U.S. I would certainly regard it with "concern." I should think the Iranians have a lot more business meddling in Iraq than we do. If I were in Venezuela I would certainly be concerned with U.S. meddling in Bolivia and other countries. Likewise, if I was Russia I would certainly be concerned with what is going on in the Ukraine. So how is it that we can warn all the rest of the world about meddling when we are constantly, incessantly, brutally and militarily meddling all around the world?

Does this not imply that everything that goes on in the world is our concern? And does not that imply that we believe we should control events everywhere? And does that, not in turn, imply that we regard outselves as an empire. THE empire! Thus it is that we don't meddle whereas everyone else does.

The fact is, meddling is hardly descriptive of what we do. Meddling sort of implies a kind of busybodiness, a sticking your nose in where you don't belong, something like the neighbors telling you how to treat your lawn. We don't meddle. We attack and destroy, murder and pillage, overwhelm with military force, demand obedience, threaten and starve, replace entire regimes, expect to be obeyed or else. I guess you can't call that just meddling. But it certainly is amusing to listen to Condi and Bush and Rumsfeld try to tell Russia and China and Iran to stop meddling. American hypocrisy truly knows no bounds. Think of it. It would be hysterically funny if it were not for the fact that we have lunatics sitting on the most powerful weapons on earth.

Don't f... with the Lone Ranger!