Thomas Friedman’s Op-Ed column “Sealing the Well” in Sunday’s New York Times confirms my thesis

that a

large part of the world is locked in a “cargo cult” mentality. The U.S.A.

is omnipotent. Anything bad that happens is our fault; anything good that

fails to happen is a result of us malevolently withholding our bounty. Just

listen to those Arabs Friedman is quoting. Their arguments are: things are

going to hell in the Mideast because America stubbornly refuses to solve the

Palestine problem. If you ask these people: “Why don’t you solve it

yourselves? There are 300 million of you, after all…” they reply: “Our

governments are too weak and cowardly! Because AMERICA installed them!

AMERICA props them up!” Everything is our fault, you see. Friedman quotes

Egyptian playwright Ali Salem: “We have an Egyptian proverb: ‘the drunk is

in the care of the sober.’ You are the sober. Don’t forget that.” Get the

idea? We are the world’s designated driver. If there’s an accident, it’s

our fault.