Rus: Except I’m not occupying the moral high ground at all: You are.

I think an objective view of history simply holds that those that have power, exercise power. Sometimes the theory of “benevolent despotism” holds sway and other times those in power are too depraved to care.

The US has aspired to the higher good in some instances (like WWII) and in others was largely trying to ensure a balance of power, not unlike the British at the height of their powers. Also like the British, our present policies are being driven by energy needs to maintain our position in the world and we’re going to find and control that energy using the means at our disposal.

I don’t think of the world in terms of good and bad, I think of the world in terms of bad and worse. Human nature being what it is, I do believe, however, that the US, on balance, is one helluva better choice than a lot of the alternatives (Russia, China, etc) and maybe not so good as certain others (Canada, Sweden, etc), especially when one considers what the US has to do to maintain our position.

Having been where I’ve been and seen what I’ve seen, I gave up on the notion of moral high ground a long time ago, the way I also realized that those John Wayne movies of my childhood were selling a product to the American people that simply didn’t exist. However, Hollywood, Wall Street and Washington, DC all realize that the truth generally tastes pretty sour and will go down a lot easier if you sugarcoat it with some nice propaganda.