Knee to the Neck

When I saw the video of a police officer (state official) with his knee on the neck of George Floyd, choking him until he surrendered or died, I thought of American foreign policy, which is supported by both political parties and most US Christians.

• The people of Venezuela voted for a socialist government, so an American knee was put on the neck of the nation, applying sanctions to strangle the economy until the people come to their senses and submit to the will of the United States.

• The American knee has been on the neck of Cuba for half a century with economic sanctions designed to strangle the economy supported by covert interventions, because the Cubans threw out a corrupt American-supported dictator.

• Official policy towards Iran is to press the knee on the neck of the nation and choke the life out of the Iranian economy with economic sanctions and military blockades until the people agree to do the will of the US president and elect a government that will submit to American demands.

• The examples go on and on, including Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Somalia, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

Judging by the smug look on his face when announcing new sanctions, the US Secretary of State, who declares himself to be a Christian, seems to enjoy putting his knee on the neck of nations that will not submit to American power.

The racism that plagues the United States goes way beyond Blacks and Latinos. An unstated racism often undergirds US official foreign policy.

• The sad thing is that many police officers had their racist tendencies reinforced while serving with the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq.

• The ungrateful Iraqis elected a government that is too close to Iran, so the US will use military force and sanctions if necessary, until they come round to the right way of thinking.

• The backward Afghans have a primitive culture, so they need US cultural advisors to bring them into the twentieth century, using M16s if necessary.

• Hatred of the Chinse people is becoming the official policy of the US mainstream news media. The Christian prophets have taken up the cry and are declaring that the devious and nasty Chinese will have to put them back in their place by the US.

The American practice of imposing economic sanctions and applying military and covert force to the neck of nations that refuse to comply with the American will has the support of both political parties and is a vote-winning policy. I wish that the Christians who are standing against police brutality and racism understood their government's official policies of using economic and military force to choke the economic life of peoples overseas that do not bend to their authority.

I wish that Christians who declare that burning buildings and destroying utilities that people need for life is a terrible waste would understand that using bombs to destroy buildings and utilities was American government policy in Raqqa, Mosul and Baghdad.