A lot has happened to me in the past few weeks, but before I write a blog on that, I want to write about what is happening in Libya. I know that with the disaster in Japan the crisis in Libya no longer makes the front page in many news sources… but it is still incredibly important for both Libya and political change in the Middle East.

The fact that the New York Times has as much about an SAT question on reality TV on its front page as the events unfolding in Libya is shameful. Is it that American news readers have lost interest in the story after a couple of weeks? Are our attention spans really that short? We might not care anymore, but our own government is trying to figure out the best course of action as they come under pressure from France and Lebanon on one side, and Russia and China on the other.

This pressure pisses me off even more than the journalistic pandering to the lowest common denominator. These countries cried out in 2003 when the United States unilaterally invaded Iraq. I agreed with them at the time, but it was only after a few years of study that I could articulate why. I believe that overall, the role that the United States has taken on is unsustainable and is bad for the world as a whole. If you look at countries that “elected” Pro-US leaders and countries that accepted IMF and World Bank loans, or if you look at what American industry has become since the end of World War II… You may come to agree with the critics of United States involvement as well.

The United States is attacked both verbally and physically until there is a crisis, at which point its detractors immediately start criticizing the United States for not acting unilaterally. Sorry guys, you cannot have it both ways. Why is it up to the United States to make sacrifices in order to get Russia and China to agree not to use their security council veto? Why is the United States being criticized for not acting earlier, while other countries that could have gotten involved are not even mentioned? This pressure is hypocrisy at its worst. Do I believe that the United States should get involved in Libya? No I do not. Do I believe that the United Nations should get involved in Libya? Hell yes. If you want the United States to stop circumventing the power of the UN whenever it suits them, then stop begging it to do just that whenever it suits you.

Also, Lebanon. Are you there? It’s me Lucian. Remember when you took part in slamming the United States for its involvement in the Middle East? I do. It has been happening every year since before I was born. So why are you calling for it to bomb Libya now? Oh and Saudi Arabia? Remember when your glorious leader came to the United States for his surgery after verbally assaulting the American system and way of life? Because I do. It was about three months ago.

I believe that the United States needs to act differently on the world stage, but this bullshit hypocrisy will only breed more of the same. It is time the governments of the world started taking some of the responsibility that they give to the United States, or shut the hell up and quit whining when the United States does what it damn well pleases. I vote for the former over the latter, but that would require other countries to take risks… So the world will continue to bitch and moan about the United States, while still relying on its highly flawed policing tactics.