The authors purpose behind the reading; On the Arrogance of Power, 1966, is to depict the United States and its failure to spread Democracy due to its “arrogance of power” (Fulbright, 2012). More specifically, this article discusses the failure to spread democracy during the Vietnam conflict. The author begins his writing with an argumentative thesis:
“The dilemmas involved are preeminently American dilemmas, not because America has weaknesses that others do not have but because America is powerful as no nation has ever been before and the discrepancy between its power and the power of others appears to be increasing”(Fulbright, 2012)
The thesis explains that as America’s power grows, the power of other nations grow as well. This in turn becomes a deterrent towards America and her ability to spread Democracy. The reason being is that as America’s influence spreads more and more, the outside world views her as more imperialistic. As stated earlier, the author uses and argumentative writing style. To support his argument, the author refers to events in Saigon during the Vietnamese conflict. Events discussed were destroying military vehicles and attempting to hurt soldiers, during a protest. This delivers to the reader a statement from the South Vietnamese that America is not welcome. The author again supports his …show more content…
This is a powerful and moving statement in my eyes because he makes the reader realize that our country has lost battles and made mistakes from which we should learn. Instead of forcing our culture onto others, we need to take a step back to see if it is even worth trying. We are not the saviors of the world even though we want world peace. This article is truly relaying the message that we need to look at ourselves as a country before we try to change
“The dilemmas involved are preeminently American dilemmas, not because America has weaknesses that others do not have but because America is powerful as no nation has ever been before and the discrepancy between its power and the power of others appears to be increasing”(Fulbright, 2012)
The thesis explains that as America’s power grows, the power of other nations grow as well. This in turn becomes a deterrent towards America and her ability to spread Democracy. The reason being is that as America’s influence spreads more and more, the outside world views her as more imperialistic. As stated earlier, the author uses and argumentative writing style. To support his argument, the author refers to events in Saigon during the Vietnamese conflict. Events discussed were destroying military vehicles and attempting to hurt soldiers, during a protest. This delivers to the reader a statement from the South Vietnamese that America is not welcome. The author again supports his …show more content…
This is a powerful and moving statement in my eyes because he makes the reader realize that our country has lost battles and made mistakes from which we should learn. Instead of forcing our culture onto others, we need to take a step back to see if it is even worth trying. We are not the saviors of the world even though we want world peace. This article is truly relaying the message that we need to look at ourselves as a country before we try to change