American soldiers committed the Mỹ Lai Massacre.

American soldiers trained their weapons on those Americans to halt the killing.

America has always contained multitudes, but chose to see the best in itself and the world saw it reflected in that light.

One of the most shocking things to me was visiting Vietnam and going to the Museum of American War Crimes in Ho Chi Minh City and almost the first thing you see walking in is the words of the US Declaration of Independence in enormous letters, printed across an entire wall: "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."

They are throwing America's own principles back in its face, castigating America for behaving in a way that is un-American. The world believed in what America claims it believes.

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SidewaysView 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The constitution is a piece of paper written by dead white men.

Principles have never been about that. The world has never been about that. It's never been something anyone who wasn't "that kind of nerd" could believe in. Not even up for debate.

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ForHackernews an hour ago | parent [-]

You say that, but pieces of paper written by dead white men have remade the world for good and for ill. All of 20th century history stands in the shadow of Das Kapital.

	▲	AnthonyMouse 7 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		It seems like a specific thing has changed. It used to be that when the US did something bad, people would point to the constitution and the American ideals and say "this isn't living up to our promise". Now instead when people point to the constitution and American ideals people say "those were written by dead white men" as if to justify cynically discarding them in favor of something heinous.