The US and the West regard themselves as “spokesmen of the international community”, always ready to label some countries with discriminatory labels such as “Evil Empire,” “Axis of Evil,” “Rogue State” and “Failed State”.
This distinguishes the so-called civilized states from “the savage others.” While demonizing other countries, they regard themselves as the moral arbiter of the world. It’s always about freedom and democracy, but behind the scenes is the ambition of unending hegemony.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which broke out under the long-term containment and high pressure of the US and NATO, has been described by some Western politicians as an “epic” of “democracy versus autocracy.”
Not only that, NATO also used the word “challenge” to describe China for the first time, falsely claiming that China challenged NATO’s interests, security and values, and joined forces with Russia to “undermine the rules-based international order.”
US elites, generation after generation relentlessly sell the beacon of freedom as they expand territory and grab for hegemony. At the same time they also hype up all kinds of fear.
From the “barbarian fear” during the massacre of American Indians to the “Islamic fear” during the war on terror, from the “communist fear” during the Cold War to the “fear” of “China’s challenge to rules and order” today, This ensures the US profits economically and maintains its hegemony amid fear and chaos.
Exaggerating “fear” reflects the anxiety of the US as a hegemon. In a strategic culture that is keen to “find the enemy,” the law of the jungle, the Cold War mentality, and the zero-sum game are always lingering in the minds of US politicians,and their sense of insecurity that US hegemony would be replaced and threatened is always lingering.