Outsiders cannot dictate to us, this is our country… I advise friends from the West not to make this an issue, because if they make it an issue the more they will lose.
The arrogance is almost as pathetic as his ignorance on homosexuality. Though, it’s probably only the stance in arrogance he knows deep down is incorrect. Excusing that, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
The United States (as well as other Western leaders) are used to being scolded by nations they give economic, political, and military support. This latest threat from Uganda reminds me of General Ashfaq Kayani (of Pakistan) five days after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. After the billions of dollars in support given in hopes of creating a defense against terrorism, we find Pakistan has missed the leader of Al Qaeda in one of the more pleasant tourist areas in the country. So, was the response from their Head of the Pakistani Army one of guilt? Embarrassment? No, it was a call to the United States to review our relationship with Pakistan (since they were the victims, right). He went further to say:
The Corps Commanders were informed about the decision to reduce the strength of US military personnel in Pakistan to the minimum essential.
Though, I suppose it may be tough to expect shame from men who usually project it onto their defenseless women.
But it gets worse. There is a simple reason why this situation with President Museveni is even more troublesome. While the United States is not the root cause of religious extremism and terrorism in the Islamic states, we can’t say the same for Uganda. Christian Evangelical proselytizing has been a staple in growth of education and health services in the country now approaching thirty-seven million people. Practicing the usual facade of help and care, the widely-denounced views on homosexuality were then espoused to a poorer, more desperate, and less educated population.
The laughable part of all this is that Uganda is crying “social imperialism” when this current trend in anti-homosexuality was driven by Americans, for Americans (or church revenue and power anyway). That is not a proclamation of pride, but humiliation. The US government has long been passive with human rights, while permitting their own religious extremists’ influence. It’s time for the United States to stop apologizing for secular morals and government, and start apologizing for its own fanatics. We ignore our problems like the Pakistanis that ignore anti-West terror plots in their district capitals. Now the question is, will the United States continue to wimper? Or will we start demanding equal rights?