If this is not who we are, then who are we?

For years I’ve witnessed acts of violence or acts of intolerance committed by members of the U.S. community that have resulted in the deaths or intimidation of fellow Americans. Inevitably some of our elected officials, including our president, would publicly denounce such behavior and claim that this is “not who we are.”

So I set about looking to discover who we really are.

When the Europeans arrived on the shores of this continent, they quickly imposed a program of genocide against the Native Americans that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of “Indians.” This allowed the Europeans to claim and settle the land that had formerly been lived on by the Native Americans.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

In the 17th century, we see the beginnings of the slave trade, where Africans were brought to America in shackles, lost their personhood, and became property. Slavery continued for over 300 years with tens of thousands of Africans dying while in transit to the new colonies or when they arrived here and would not obey their “masters.”

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

Both the genocide of Native Americans and the slavery of African Americans were both condoned by state and federal governments.

After the Civil War, with the abolition of slavery, we enter the Reconstruction period and the beginnings of the Jim Crow era. Jim Crow allowed white men to intimidate, threaten, or kill African Americans who “did not know their place.”

The atrocities mentioned above were officially condoned by elected government officials, local, state, and federal.

It wasn’t till the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, that the “separate but equal” rationale used by the white folks to justify their racism was officially made illegal.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

During WW2, fighting a war against Germany, Italy, and Japan, the U.S. felt the need to dispossess many thousands of Japanese Americans and force them into internment camps. Why were the Japanese thought to be potentially disloyal to the U.S. and potentially dangerous to U.S. security? Guess.

Then in 1945, with the war coming to an end and Japan signaling its willingness to surrender, the U.S. decided to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

In July 1938, a poll of Americans regarding Jewish refugees trying to escape from Hitler’s Europe showed an overwhelming number of responses indicated that Americans were not receptive to accepting these people—67.4% of the respondents wished to keep the refugees out, while 23.1% were in favor of acceptance and 9.5% were uncertain.

Another poll in 1939 posed the question, should 10,000 refugee children from Germany, most of them Jewish, who will be cared for in American homes, be allowed into the U.S.? Sixty-one percent said no, 30% said yes, and 9% had no opinion.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

In a highly publicized event in May–June 1939, the United States refused to admit over 900 Jewish refugees who had sailed from Hamburg, Germany, on the St. Louis. The St. Louis appeared off the coast of Florida.

Denied permission to land in the United States, the ship was forced to return to Europe. Of the 908 St. Louis passengers who returned to Europe, 254 (nearly 28 percent) are known to have died in the Holocaust; 288 passengers found refuge in Britain. Of those who returned to the continent, 366 (just over 59 percent) are known to have survived the war.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

As we move along in U.S. history, we come to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The role of the United States in the Vietnam War began after the Second World War and escalated into full commitment during what is termed the Vietnam War from 1959 to 1975.

In October 1962, Operation Ranch Hand begins. US planes spray herbicides and defoliants over South Vietnam until 1971.

When the fighting finally ended, over one million Vietnamese had been killed, their land poisoned by chemicals used by the U.S. military, and over 50,000 U.S. troops were dead. All this to stop communism from expanding in Asia.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

The Venezuelan coup d’état attempt of 2002, supported by the U.S., was a failed coup d’état that saw President Hugo Chávez, who had been elected in 2000, ousted from office for 47 hours, before being restored by a combination of military loyalists and support from some of Venezuela’s working class laborers.

Why did the U.S. support the overthrow of a democratically elected government? Chavez was a nationalist who wanted to eliminate foreign investors control and profits from the oil industry in Venezuela. Chavez’ goal was to give the government control so that there would be a fairer distribution of profits among the Venezuelan workers so they would have a better style of life.

The U.S. and their corporate buddies did not like having their investments and control of the industry reduced. Hence, Chavez “had to go” despite being democratically elected.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

On March 19, 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq on the pretext that they were developing weapons of mass destruction and were involved with Osama bin Laden in the 9-11 attacks. Fourteen years, thousands of deaths, destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure later, we are aware that the rationale for the invasion of Iraq was based on lies.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

In 2014, the U.S. supported coup of democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych in the Ukraine was successfully implemented. Why would the U.S. be concerned about the Ukraine?

The Ukraine borders Russia and NATO was trying very hard to seduce Ukraine into joining with NATO. Having control of a country that borders Russia would be excellent military strategy and would give NATO control of those countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union. We also must consider the rich oil and gas resources in the Ukraine as a strong motivation for NATO’s adventures.

But, President Yanukovych favored maintaining relationships with Russia and that’s a no-no. The overthrow of Yanukovych’s administration was successful and the new government put in place. What we rarely talk about is the fact that this new government is strongly represented by neo-Nazis, people who do not hesitate to fly and wave flags with the swastika on them.

How strange that the U.S., the “beacon of liberty and democracy,” would support a neo-Nazi government.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

Today we face another refugee problem, one generated by U.S. and NATO military actions in Syria and Iraq. Millions of people from the Middle East are seeking refuge in Europe and the U.S., and similar to the Jews in WW2, they are trying to survive the death and destruction where they lived.

It is despicable that a presidential candidate, Donald Trump, should be spewing hateful, racist rhetoric as part of his campaign. But what is most troubling is the response of the audiences he is addressing . . . they cheer.

“BUT THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE.”

The above list of U.S. involvements is a partial one. I do not wish to belabor the issue but over and over again I hear “that’s not who we are.” This leaves me wondering, then who are we?

Recently, a UN General Assembly committee passed a resolution “combating glorification of Nazism,” with 126 countries voicing their support. Meanwhile, the U.S., Ukraine and Canada voted against this resolution. Moscow has called the decision “regrettable.”

The resolution, which was initially proposed by Russia and co-authored by 52 nations, including Brazil, China, India, and Kazakhstan, deals with measures to fight the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism, and other practices that facilitate the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

It condemns any denial of the Holocaust, as well as any form of glorification of the Nazi movement, including honoring former members of the Waffen-SS organization. The document also expresses concern over the installation of memorials related to Nazism and unending attempts to desecrate or destroy the monuments to those who fought against Nazism during World War II.

The U.S., Canada, Palau, and Ukraine voted against the resolution while the NATO countries abstained from the vote. Would the vote have been different if it were not the Russians who authored the proposal?

I think that the best way to measure who we are is to take a look at who we have been and who we’ve been is not a pretty picture. Much of the human suffering around the world is directly linked to U.S. capitalism and imperialism.

GOD BLESS AMERIKA!!

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.