THE ECONOMIST MAY 6, 2001
US Imperialism
The American flag is habitually burnt publically around the world by anti-imperialists while the Union flag of the United Kingdom rarely is, if ever. Second, the Stars and Stripes flies over the states of California and Texas, which America took by force from Mexico fewer than 150 years ago. Mexicans still call these states occupied territories. Unlike Britain, America has not yet decolonised, and continues to act in a brutal, imperialist fashion in many parts of the world. But what can one expect from a nation whose creation involved the genocide of one race and the subjugation of another.
David Short, Johannesburg
Letters are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor at The Economist, 25 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1HG.
FAX: 020 7839 2968
E-mail: letters@economist.com