The "Ugly American" is schizophrenic

This introspection is dedicated to those remaining Americans who ask "Why do they hate us?".

In 1958, two Americans wrote a book "The Ugly American" renowned for its slashing exposé of American arrogance, incompetence, and corruption in Southeast Asia. Vietnam's bloody orgy proved their point.

A year ago, a previous posting on this site fleetingly mentioned "The schizophrenia of the “American Way of Life”: Preach peace and democracy but rooted in genocide and violence on a subliminal level".

Not being a psychiatrist, the definition of schizophrenia is (according to www.gurunet.com):
- A situation or condition that results from the coexistence of disparate or antagonistic qualities, identities, or activities: the national schizophrenia that results from carrying out an unpopular war.
- Any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral, or intellectual disturbances.

Recent events have highlighted this schizophrenic behavior in the American psyche, be it the response to hurricane Katrina, the finally to be released 'more' Abu Ghraib pictures and videos. testaments of American soldiers who tortured prisoners, among other indicators.