US forsakes good for the sake of gold
By Zhong Sheng
Interests can only be acquired through harmonious relations.
However, some short-sighted American politicians just don’t understand it, and
instead abandoned the international justice that the US used to take pride in.
Their practices revealed the essence of the US, a betrayer of
justice who forsakes good for the sake of gold.
Since 1940s , the US rose to be the strongest power of the
world, and gradually changed its isolationism policies and took an active part
in global affairs to promote its values, making great stride in shaping the
image of a “greatest power”. It called itself the “leader of the free world”
and an “indispensable nation”.
However, the current administration of the country is maxing
out Washington’s morality that has already been widely questioned.
US politicians, under the banner of the so-called “free, fair
and reciprocal” trade, are waving the “big stick” of tariffs and exerting
extreme pressure. They pretend to build an open environment for investment, but
are indeed pressuring the enterprises of other countries out of no reason.
These US politicians have shifted domestic development
contradictions and deceived the general public, and withdrawn from global
treaties such as the Paris Agreement while making fancy speeches to take
international responsibilities.
The US poses as an important force to safeguard the world
peace, but is arbitrarily interfering with the internal affairs of other
countries. It groundlessly accused other countries of violating human rights,
but has quit the United Nations Human Rights Council itself.
A poll conducted by management consulting company Gallup in
134 countries indicated a continuous drop in the global approval of the US
leadership. The rating was down nearly 20 percentage points from a few years
ago.
Nowadays, everybody knows clearly what US justice means –everything
that conforms to American interests, and those aren’t helpful for achieving “America
first” are unjust.
Even many of the country’s allies have taken a beating. They
were left unprepared as the US unilaterally withdrew from the
Washington-initiated Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and the hard-won negotiation
results of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action were also wasted upon the US
withdrawal. Just in less than a month after the US and the European Union
issued a joint statement to halt tariff plans, Washington once again threatened
to slap a 25-percent tariff on automobiles.
Even American political scientist Joseph Nye who coined the
term of “soft power” has to admit that the “soft power” of the US has been
weakened.
The US distortion and neglect of international justice
exposed the extreme pragmatism of the US politicians. They see no value and
rules in international exchanges, but only bare trade of interests and
confrontation of powers. The so-called justice is only a tool for them to fight
for influence, make hypes, and seek private profits.
American scholar Laurence Duggan once pointed out that the US
policies were indeed imperialism in disguise of idealism that explains its self-serving
practices in a moral rhetoric. This makes it easier to understand why US
politicians are double dealers who use whatever that suits their interests and
abandon whatever that does not.
Morality makes a person stand and a country prosper. International
justice is not only a basis from which voices are made, but also a consensus of
the international community on certain issues. It represents the values upheld
by human society.
For instance, different countries should cooperate with and
help each other rather than isolation, keep promises rather than backtracking,
and respect each other with an equal mind rather than resorting to supremacy
and bullying practices.
The countries that arbitrarily trample on the recognized
values and principles will end up as a target of public criticism. US
policymakers shall understand the traditional Chinese philosophy: those who stand
with morality receive wide support and those who go against it receive little.
As a major country, the US shall absolutely take its
responsibilities and showcase a wisdom that matches its size in front of the
complicated problems.
In today’s world, the international influence of a country is
not determined by only power, but to a large extent the values it jointly holds
with other countries, the consensuses it reached with other nations, and the
cooperation it conducts with its partners. These will help it achieve win-win
results and common progress with the world.
A righteous man follows morality, practices justice and
values reputation, as the old saying goes. Only by acting in an upright manner
can a country be recognized by the world.
The US politicians should understand a basic rule that
backtracking is never tolerated by morality, as such practice is irresponsible
to their country and people, as well as the progress of world development and
human civilization.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name used by People's Daily to express
views on foreign policy.)
US forsakes good for the sake of gold
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