Reddit mentions of Implementing U.S. Human Rights Policy: Agendas, Policies, and Practices

I feel pretty good about being an American.

I vote, I rally, and I commit a significant portion of my time away from work helping to campaign for individuals whose campaigns align with my own ideals.

I know that my vote, and only my vote, can influence the outcome of elections. This isn't true in a singular sense, but if only if you are aware of Down's Paradox and actively work against it.

The United States economy is going through a great resurgence and as a direct result I've seen my salary raise by nearly $25k in the past year.

I know that the imprisonment of prisoners of war is happening and I know that it is not necessarily happening legally. I also know that despite how much chagrin we place towards "advanced interrogation techniques" that they do in fact provide some good intelligence. Albeit not all or even a majority of the time, but sometimes they do.

The major thing that we cannot truly calculate is the number of attacks that have been thwarted due to torture, phone tapping, email screening, or otherwise invasive maneuvers into my personal freedom.

I do not agree with the way that these things have come about, but I actively do my part to try and corral them.

I look at how much the US government "spies on its citizens" and then I look across the pond at the UK where there are CCTVs everywhere - the amount of "spying" that is actually occurring against your average every day citizen is not as much as some people would like for us to believe - just as it is definitely more than what some agencies would like for us to believe.

Which portions of the Constitution are you referring to? Please give me a list of specific articles and I will either agree with you wholeheartedly or I will help to explain why the Constitution is not being ignored as much as being spread by the ambiguity of legal definition; a key point considering the fact that the Constitution is a legal document.

The "frequently corrupt" police force that murders innocent people and frequently aren't held accountable is not, and I repeat, is not a staple of the US Government. In fact, each police force is representative of each individual state government and the powers held therein, in accordance with the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. So, by inherently ascribing the "corruption" of the "US" police force, you're creating a false narrative in itself - there is no "US" police force and each individual department is governed by the individual states.

These individual states would probably hold more power and sway if we, the people, did not consistently decide that we wanted the US federal government to have more control and power in our daily lives. Because of our nation's general lack of understanding of the generic makeup of our government and the underlying backbone of federalism within, we tend to make these broad assumptions.

We have the most people incarcerated of any country, sure. We also have a higher population than most of the other countries that we are often ranked against - a hugely determining factor that is so easily swept under the rug whenever any statistic such as this one is brought up. We also have an outdated drug policy that will eventually be overturned and eventually will release the vast majority of these prisoners. The key term there being "eventually" because our government was specifically drawn up to require a good amount of time for major pieces of legislation to be overruled. This helps to fight against vast swings in public opinion and also tends to help combat bouts of demagoguery - another thing that we should probably teach more about in our schools.

I'm not going to comment on "going after journalists and whistle-blowers" because the big bad US government isn't, in fact, singling these people out en masse. That being said, I'm sure that it does happen, and I'm sure that when it does there are indeed some grandiose underpinnings to it. Do I agree with it? No. So what do I do? I do what I can to help place politicians in power who can do something about it.

The US has not invaded or bombed a single country this side of 2000 where the overall achieved effect could be considered "profitable." Look at the deficit that we grew in response to the Iraq/Afghanistan war if you need further clarification.

I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud because I can see people coming from countries of true destitution come here and make something of themselves - maybe not something for them individually, but something that allows their children to have a better lot in life than they did; a most respectful endeavor.

I'm proud to be an American because I was able to study political science and focus on American politics so that I could better understand the machinations of our government and rise above the general populace and the notions of fear-mongering that so easily encapture us (something you are engaging in now, believe it or not).

I suggest that you embark on a well encouraged journey to help better your own understanding of the Constitution, the powers held within, and the intent of those who wrote it.

A good and short starting point is Philip Hamburger's paper (PDF warning) The Constitution's Accommodation of Social Change

Moreover, a large amount of the issues that you address are issues of comparison between legal thought and the ever-changing opinion of morality. I suggest you read Richard Posner's work (PDF warning) The Problematics of Moral and Legal Theory

Lastly, to truly help increase knowledge of our international relations and the policies within, I suggest reading three books for three different reasons:

1. John Stuart Mill - On Liberty - This book lays a good foundation for the questions you raise concerning the rights of citizens in relation to the government.
   
   
2. Debra Liang-Fenton - Implementing US Human Rights Policy - This book helps to tackle the problem that you discuss concerning "profitable" bombings/invasions. It will most likely align very well with your underlying interests.
   
   
3. Continuing on the path of international relations, I suggest you pick up David Halberstam's War in a Time of Peace to help better understand some of the underlying machinations of our foreign policy fumbles.
   
   
   
   Often, I think that people find themselves ashamed of our country and our government due to their lack of knowledge of the underlying struggles that dictate our leaders' decision making, coupled with a lack of understanding of how exactly our leaders come into (and subsequently stay in) power. These issues are not unrelated, but instead part of a larger network of issues that all stem from a basic lack of education in the realm of civics and American government.