Why do they hate us?

I was reading a CNN article today about an American travel author, Beth Whitman, in Veitnam who witnessed a bunch of young American boys horsing around in the streets of Veitnam, during which some of the boys' shirts were ripped off.  The writer claims that simple incidents like this is why there is this image of the "Ugly American."  She argued that those shirts were at least 20, 30 dollars and that amount was more than the average monthly salary of the people in Veitnam.  Later the article goes to argue that maybe America's failed dimplomacy with developing nations might contribute to this image.  I proclaim that none of this is true.  Not true in the sense that these are NOT major contributing factors to the ever-dwindling American image.  

It is not a mystery nor a paradox.  It is extremely simple if we remove our American goggle with which we view the world around us.  We are not hated because we do not help others, we are hated because we hurt others.  We have a stake in major policies all across the world.  We are heavily invovled in almost every nation that is currently suffering from war, poverty or starvation. Offcourse when I say us, I don't just mean the American government or poeple, I also mean American coorporations who mostly shape American policy.  We have started and funded almost every American foe at one point in history.  Saddam Hussein? We funded his party to overthrow the previous party, not to mention we were an extremely strong proponent of his 8-year war against Iran during which 2 million Iraqis and Iranis died.  Matter of fact, most of Iraq's arms were American donated from that war.  Iran? We funded them too.  Actually, we funded both sides of the war at one point, but mostly Saddam.  Bin Laden? Who do you think gave the Taliban and Alqaeda all the weapons and training that they have?  The United States were the number one supporter of those terrorists during the cold war, when Russia was fighting with them (watch Charlie Wilson's War). 

The list keeps going on and on of wars and revolutions we financed by money, weapons and/or soldiers.  So the next time you go back-packing through Europe, visit the Pyramids or The Great Wall of China, and you get the evil-eye from the locals, do not think that this is because of what you are wearing or how much you spent on your sun-glasses. To think that is just another example of why we are hated.