I think perhaps you responded to the wrong comment. Or you didn’t bother to read mine. Yours on the other hand I’ve read a thousand times: America is the ultimate evil, blah blah. You guys need some new material.
Of course some actions of nations against their own people or against foreign people will be worse than others.
If the consensus mechanism used in a democracy is a simple majority, that leaves the opportunity for 49% of the population to be entirely disenfranchised by 51%. Let's assume this is fair and reasonable for now.
Moral authority is something that has traditionally been claimed by members of the clergy, and notably by many governments in which the political leaders are also the religious leaders.
We've seen the many downsides of theocracy around the world, so I find it concerning that so many Americans are willing to accept hollow moralizing from elected leaders.
If a president said, "I woke this morning and I knew that God had spoken to me. He said that the US must invade country X. And so it shall be done", most people would all be appropriately freaked out.
But when instead the political leader says "Country X is led by a mentally ill tyrant, women of country X are oppressed, and the infrastructure in country X under the current regime is failing, resulting in high levels of disease and infant mortality", everyone applauds the upright moral character of the American politician.
Every day the newspapers contain a number of articles pointing to infrastructure problems in other nations... whether it's drug violence in south or central America, corruption in India, the smell of garbage or sewage in China, etc. Not to mention the many articles taking aim at social ills blamed on the ruling party in any number of nations. This writing is read by Americans as we read celebrity gossip, as entertainment. It reinforces the narrative of American exceptionalism.
But one might ask why it is necessary. It is done to help make Americans view foreign people as beneath them, unable to prevent drug violence, corruption or the smell of garbage. We are meant to read these articles and think "wow I am sure glad I live in the US".
But in reality, the way of life for middle class people in many countries in the world is superior to that experienced in the US. Not in the way that is reflected by per-capita GDP, but if you go there and see how people live it is obvious.
If Americans realized that we would tolerate a lot less from policymakers. We might even insist on accountability for grand ideas that promise to be money pits. If we saw the people of other nations as getting a lot of things right, maybe even getting some things more right than we do, we might be reluctant to allow our leaders to fly drones over their countries or scapegoat their exporters.
The entire American security state and massive military projection of power could not exist without the opiatic effect of the state religion of American Exceptionalism.
So while the program going on in China may be of some minor level of concern, we need to see through the PR campaign that is going on and realize why we are being told about this one narrow aspect of Chinese policy.
