The arrogance of power

We are living a historic moment.\nFor the first time in human history, the world voted earlier this week for the 18 judges of the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.). According to the United Nations, the I.C.C. will "bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes as genocide, ethnic cleansing, sexual slavery, and maiming … and to finally put an end to the impunity so often enjoyed by those in positions of power." \nIn spite of the fact that attempts and proposals for an international court date as far back as the late '40s, the I.C.C. was only established in 1998 by a treaty signed in Rome. Of the more than 140 participants of the meeting, only seven voted against the creation of the new court. They were: Iraq, China, Israel, Libya, Yemen, Qatar and … the Unites States of America.\nThe jurisdiction of the I.C.C. covers crimes committed either by individuals who are citizens of nations that ratified the treaty or within the territories of such nations. Ratifying is an essential part of international agreements, something the United States has obviously not done. However, Human Rights Watch -- an active Non-Governmenal Organization in the area of human rights -- denounces that "the Bush administration is requesting states around the world to approve bilateral agreements requiring them not to surrender American nationals to the I.C.C. … The goal of these agreements is to exempt U.S. nationals from I.C.C. jurisdiction."\nDoesn't it make you wonder why? Could it only be the fear of the judges' hypothetical political bias?\nAn article published by The New York Times on April 17, 2002, implied that America was involved in the short-lived coup d'etat in Venezuela that took place in April last year. When asked by a Brazilian magazine about the article, the current U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Donna Hrinak, dismissed the accusation, and concluded by saying that thanks to God, the United States is no longer in this game.\nNo longer? \nWhile pondering the implications of her statement, I came across a quotation from a certain famous U.S. Senator, one of the two congressmen to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in 1964.\nThe quotation reads: "Power tends to confuse itself with virtue and a great nation is particularly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God's favor, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations -- to make them richer and happier and wiser, to remake them, that is, in its own shining image … Once imbued with the idea of a mission, a great nation easily assumes that it has the means as well as the duty to do God's work."\n Did anybody see the State of the Union Address last week?\n No wonder former Senator J. William Fulbright's name today serves as a synonym for understanding among nations. The quotation above is from his book "Arrogance of Power" which was published while the United States debated it's participation in the Vietnam War. He defined such arrogance as "a psychological need that nations seem to have in order to prove that they are bigger, better, or stronger than other nations. Implicit in this drive is the assumption … that force is the ultimate proof of superiority."\nIf the shoe fits ...\nRecently a friend of mine asked me what I think the problem between the international community and the United States is. Well, as Ambassador Hrinak said, "We left it to CNN to tell the story of the U.S. to the world. This is not their job. It is ours." \nWell, blaming it all on story-telling is too simplistic; for me, it would help if the United States would play a fair game while it is busy shaping world history.