Bribery or diplomacy?

Samantha Singer, Online Editor-in-Chief
February 6, 2012
Filed under Commentary

 “Be nice to the gays and I’ll give you some money…”

That is essentially what theUSis currently doing with foreign aid and homosexuals. During a speech before the UN Human Rights Council President Barack Obama declared that foreign gay rights is now aUSforeign policy.

“The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to theUnited States’ commitment to promoting human rights,” said Obama during his speech.

While this is an obvious effort for human rights it still does not deny the fact that not every country is as progressive as we are. It is strange to think that in some places the fight of sexuality still continues to this day, and I am not naïve enough to think that it does not continue on here but think of how far we have come. We now have an openly homosexual county commissioner, a Gay-Straight Alliance at our school, and the freedom to technically kiss whomever we want in public. Compared to other countries around the world such as Russia, Nigeria, and Cameroon, we are all liberals.

While I wholeheartedly agree that the acts of hatred that have been committed on our homosexual neighbors around the world have been less than attractive, I am still wary that we are pushing our own westernized views on the rest of the world.

Does this give us the right to push our own values on other countries? Some countries like Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the official religion, consider being gay a crime. Saudi Arabia is not the only Arabic country that follows Sharia, Islamic law, as its legal code.

The relationship between America and Saudi Arabia has always walked a fine line with the oil embargo and other international issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian peace conflicts, and the amount of terrorists that area produces. Not to mention they are one of our only Arabic Allies, giving us a window in to the Muslim world. Without them we would have difficulty monitoring the Middle East and serving as a “big brother” to everyone. On a military and foreign diplomacy stance this new policy is not a good idea. We could potentially create more enemies than we already have and force other countries to go against their own values to administer this idea solely for monetary support. For the safety of this nation, is this a good idea?

On a human rights stance, how can we not support this? Some countries have declared war on sexual minorities. In Nigeria it is illegal to be a homosexual and if you enter marriage or cohabitate with someone of the same sex as you, you can be arrested and sentenced to jail for up to fourteen years. One man claims to have had his collarbone smashed in for simply walking with a male friend down the street. Nigeria isn’t the only African country to hold these policies; Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Senegal all have similar laws and stories of abuse.

This boils down to whether or notAmericahas the right to comment and regulate the values of other countries. Lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender have always been a controversial topic but to pair it with foreign aid could be disastrous for the relationships our nation has with other countries. Do we have the right to give other countries an ultimatum?