The Myth Of World Opinion and International Law

So I was talking to a grumpy ex-blogger from Texas who I know today, and we were discussing how difficult it seems to be to write these days. I confessed that I have being trying to do a post on the farce of "world opinion" and "international law" for several weeks now. I had great examples, the right amount of snark, and some "Oh yeah..." moments, but I was not happy at all with my results thus far. I think I finally got something that works today in a comment at another site, so I think I will simply expand on and edit those remarks for effect. These remarks were made in relation to the recent Russian attack on Georgia.

Recent events illustrate too well something that I have been thinking for a long time now, which is basically “Screw World Opinion! It means exactly nothing!"

Consider this:

If we had invaded Mexico’s northern states, in retaliation for their clear provocation in sending paramilitaries into our territory to shoot and murder our citizens, duel with law enforcement, and conduct an ongoing invasion for the specific purpose of returning our states back to their control by default, “world leaders”, including the Useless Nitwits and Moscow would be in front of cameras 30 seconds later bitching about our aggressive stance and belligerent behavior. Every turd world nation would be expressing its outrage and burning Bush in effigy by nightfall. Our ‘allies’ in Europe would be wagging their fingers at us by day two and “condemning US activities in the strongest terms”, and by day three, the usual suspects in our own ‘entertainment community’ would be blathering into the nearest microphone about how ashamed they are to be Americans, how the President’s actions are shameful, and how we are killing the innocent brown people, etc.

The silence from Europe is deafening. The former satellite nations are not going to speak up for fear of becoming the next target, and as long as Putin has Europe by the gas tank, the only action we can rely on will be some lukewarm lip service.

There are two standards for international conduct. The one we are held to, and the one the rest of the world has to live by. When we act on resolutions from "World Bodies", such as the Useless Nitwits, we are "acting without authority" and "conducting illegal wars". When the Russians invade a sovereign neighbor with premeditation on the basis of coming to the aid of a breakaway state, the crickets chirp, and the world shrugs its collective shoulders, even though Russia seemed to believe it had the right to use force against its own breakaway state of Chechnya. I guess what's good for the big bear is not so good for the little bears. No matter. Double standards are the order of the day, and I am tired of it. I am willing to utterly marginalize and ostracize those within our borders who are too eager to buy into and advocate this fractured world view at every turn, by pretending to think deep thoughts and demonstrate their wondrous lack of understanding of how the real world, not Celebrityland(TM) works, by pissing all over the country that made their incredible wealth and insulated lifestyles, not to mention their inflated egos, possible.

Either we start doing what is in our best interest without regard to the chastisement of the nuanced, enlightened America-Lasters, or we may as well lay down and die now, because it is suicide to let others continue to call the tune.