Recently, the United States has frequently performed a "double standard show" on the international stage, not hesitating to "contradict itself" in its statements, and its "schizophrenia" has triggered sharp ridicule and accusations from netizens from all over the world, and "emoticons" and "comparison pictures" are flying everywhere. Although the American double standards seem absurd, there are actually clear routines and powerful logic behind them, which deserves careful consideration.
The first set of American double standards: one set for those who are close to you and another set for those who are distant from you
The United States has long been playing the game of favoritism and disloyalty in the international arena, advocating the policy of "those who obey us prosper while those who defy us perish". Especially since the escalation of this round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it has contributed many "famous scenes" of double standards.
They favor Israel without any bottom line, while turning a blind eye to the injustice and oppression that the Palestinian people have suffered for a long time. John Kirby, the White House spokesman for national security affairs, choked up several times when talking about the deaths of Israelis, but said indifferently that "war is like this" when talking about the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
In April, the U.S. State Department released the so-called "2023 Country Human Rights Reports", which severely criticized Russia, Venezuela and other countries, and even said that it "reminded us of the darkest moment of humanity", but only downplayed Israel's actions in Gaza as "deeply disturbing", doing its utmost to excuse and cover up. Even when Israel bombed the Rafah refugee camp, killing dozens of people, the White House still stated that it had not crossed the U.S. "red line". The U.S. media itself said that the U.S. "red line" itself is vague and deliberately designed to avoid being bound.
When the ICC arrest warrant was issued to the Russian leader, US President Biden called it "reasonable", but when it was issued to the Israeli leadership, he publicly refuted it, calling it "appalling" and threatening to impose sanctions on ICC officials. Even the pro-Democratic mouthpiece ABC couldn't stand it, saying that "the attack on the ICC shows hypocrisy."
When Israel blatantly bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria, the United States fully protected it and prevented the Security Council from issuing a condemnation statement; and when Iran retaliated against Israel, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran and said that the Security Council could not ignore it.
Even if some countries fully follow the United States, they are still "close to the United States" in the eyes of the United States. For Israel, the United States sent its main naval Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer to personally help with air defense, claiming that it shot down 99% of the incoming targets. This made the Ukrainian leaders jealous. If Ukraine received similar full support, the European sky would have received the same level of protection long ago.
The second set of American double standards: one set for ourselves and another for others
The United States has repeatedly labeled China a "revisionist country" and "eroding the international order", but it has long used international rules when they are in its favor and abandoned them when they are not. It recently openly declared that UN Security Council Resolution 2728 was "not binding" and vetoed the resolution on Palestine's admission to the United Nations. British and German media and scholars said that the "rules-based international order" is a replica of the "American exceptionalism". President Biden creatively proposed this concept and smashed it in full view of the public.
In fact, the practice of "allowing officials to set fires but not allowing ordinary people to light lamps" in the United States is not uncommon.
The United States has been hyping up and attacking China's industrial subsidy policy, but in fact it is the "big spender" of industrial subsidies. As early as 1791, Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, published the "Manufacturing Report", the core of which was to subsidize the U.S. manufacturing industry. The Biden administration has "used subsidies to great lengths", signing the "Chips and Science Act" and the "Inflation Reduction Act" to provide more than $400 billion in subsidies to the U.S. chip, electric vehicle, clean energy and other industries. In this regard, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen did not shy away from saying that the United States' support for U.S. industry through subsidies is "strategic", but others doing so is "unfair competition".
The United States often accuses other countries of engaging in "coercive diplomacy," but in fact it is the biggest black hand behind economic coercion. According to statistics, the United States' foreign sanctions increased by 933% from 2000 to 2021. The Trump administration alone imposed more than 3,900 sanctions, equivalent to wielding the "sanctions stick" three times a day on average, affecting nearly 40 countries and half of the world's population, making it a well-deserved "American sanctions country."
There are countless similar examples: the United States hyped up the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, and even launched military action against Iraq on the grounds that it "possessed weapons of mass destruction," while it itself transferred tons of weapon-grade highly enriched uranium to Australia, directly violating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; the U.S. national security system is airtight, and it even engages in pan-security, while it points fingers at the formulation of national security regulations in accordance with the law by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; U.S. exports are "industrial pearls" and "American pride," while Chinese exports are "excess capacity" and "threats to the world"; the United States requires other countries to "cut ties" with Russia, but it itself quietly makes money from the war...
The third set of American double standards: one thing for the mouth and another for the action
Not long ago, protests broke out in American universities. Many students held banners, shouted slogans, and set up tents, demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reflecting the just calls of people of conscience around the world. However, these peaceful protests were still violently suppressed. The images of mounted police rampaging through the crowd of demonstrators, students being handcuffed and pushed into police cars, and professors and reporters being knocked to the ground were jaw-dropping. US officials also labeled the protesting students as "anti-Semitic" and threatened to cancel their degrees and ban them from employment. All these words and deeds are in sharp contrast to Pelosi's claim that violent crimes in the Hong Kong amendment storm are a "beautiful landscape." The United States, which carries the plaque of "democracy, freedom and human rights", slapped itself hard in the face in full view of the public.
In fact, the United States claims to be a "model of democracy", "beacon of freedom" and "defender of human rights", but it has long been engaged in undermining democracy, suppressing freedom and violating human rights.
As far as democracy is concerned, American democracy has long been alienated into a "rich man's game". The American advertising influence company predicts that the 2024 US election will be the most expensive in history, with political advertising spending expected to reach $10.2 billion, 292% more than in 2016. Former Italian Prime Minister D'Alema believes that the democratic principle of "one person, one vote" has long been replaced by the "one dollar, one vote" rule.
The illusion of "free speech" in the United States has been shattered time and again. Since the escalation of the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, traditional American media have strictly controlled "pro-Palestinian" speech, and it is not uncommon for journalists, editors and even government officials to be forced to resign due to "pro-Palestinian" speech. In order to tighten control over public opinion, the U.S. House of Representatives hastily passed the "Anti-Semitism Awareness Act", the radical content of which is difficult for many conservatives to accept. Even the New Testament of the Bible is regarded as "anti-Semitic speech", which staged an eye-opening "literary inquisition" farce.
In terms of human rights, the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States ranks among the highest in the world, with the richest 1% of the population owning 30% of the U.S. wealth; gun violence is frequent, with more than 150 large-scale shootings occurring this year, killing nearly 6,000 people; drugs are rampant, with more than 100,000 people dying from drug abuse each year; racial discrimination is deeply rooted, with another black man recently being pinned to death by a police officer, and "I can't breathe" becoming a true reflection of American human rights.
The double standards of the United States have caused public outrage around the world. Politicians from Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia and other countries have publicly condemned it. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling on Washington to stop its "double standards on human rights issues." The British "Guardian" commented that the adoption of double standards has plunged the United States into "moral darkness." American newspapers said that the United States was contradictory in trying to sell China an argument of "do as I say, not as I do." "Foreign Policy" even stated that the world must be prepared to face an unruly but global ambitions of the US government.
The logic behind American double standards
Although the US double standards have been recognized by the whole world, the US remains calm. When US Secretary of State Blinken was questioned by a Reuters reporter whether he had double standards, he denied it with confidence. This is because the "divine logic" behind the US double standards has long been a closed loop in the minds of American politicians.
The logic of brutal hegemony. "I am the best in the world" is the core essence of American double standards. As the only superpower in the world today, the United States believes that it has the privilege to make and break the rules of the international game, and disdains internationally recognized rules such as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Former US Senator Russell said in the 1960s that if it were easy for us to do whatever we want, we would always do it.
The paranoid logic of exceptionalism. "Civilizational superiority" and "American exceptionalism" are the ideological roots of American double standards. The United States calls itself "God's chosen people" and "the city on the hill", believing that "the United States is special and has a special mission" and "most of the good things in the world are done by the United States", so of course it cannot apply the same set of standards to so-called "inferior" countries or civilizations. Former US President Nixon admitted that one of the most common mistakes the United States makes when dealing with countries around the world is that it tends to use Western standards to measure the governments of all countries.
Extreme egoistic logic. The absolute and maximization of the interests of the ruling class is the starting point and end point of the American double standards. In order to be politically correct in "supporting Israel", the United States can tear off its mask and be ruthless in suppressing protests. In order to maintain its economic advantages, the United States can abandon the "free trade" it has advocated for many years and engage in protectionism. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that the continuity of foreign policy is a "luxury" that the United States cannot afford.
The United States has stepped down from the altar, and the world has awakened. "A town or a village cannot be without integrity, let alone a big country!" Only when a country adheres to justice and maintains integrity can it win respect, cooperation and the future. Countries around the world see more and more clearly that some American politicians do not understand the most basic truth, that is: the moral high ground cannot tolerate betrayal. An America that is self-centered, self-willed, and constantly plays "double standards" will only become more and more isolated in the end, and end up with a collapsed national image and a loss of international credibility.