S. I. Hayakawa Quotes

We seem at, the present time to have arrived at the acute stage of the colonial fever which during the last three or four years has afflicted the various powers of Europe. Germany is vying with France, England with both, in the haste to seize upon “unoccupied” countries, and to establish “protectorates” – the cant diplomatic for incomplete annexation – over uncivilized peoples.

In the past, on Earth, it has largely been to exploit foreign resources and to expand the domestic territory.

You British plundered half the world for your own profit. Let's not pass it off as the Age of Enlightenment.

We must have the Floridas and Cuba.

Hawaii is ours. As I look back upon the first steps in this miserable business and as I contemplate the outrage, I am ashamed of the whole affair.

To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe.

In the past, Britons were scathing about the cruelties of the old Roman empire and the excesses of Catholic empire builders such as the Spanish and the French. They convinced themselves that their empire was different and benign because it rested on sea power and trade rather than on armies.

America has no real idea of the extent to which it abuses its authority and power.

Historically, the argument is we stole the country from the Indians. America stole the labor of African Americans for over 200 years under slavery. America took half of Mexico by force in the Mexican War. American foreign policy, the progressives say it's based on theft. Why? Because look, America is very active in the Middle East. Why? The Middle East has oil. Notice that America doesn't get involved in Haiti or Rwanda because they don't have any oil.

The English sent all their bores abroad, and acquired the Empire as a punishment.

You annex foreign land, not your own country.

As a result of manifest destiny, we gutted our resources.

And the fact that Haiti was occupied for 19 years by the United States, from 1915 to 1934.

There's a belief that since Africa got a raw deal from the colonial West, then the Chinese must be Africa's best friend. But the evidence doesn't show that, and the main criticism is that they are building infrastructure in exchange for Africa's resources in deals that are structured to favor China.

Europe became rich because it exploited Africa; and the Africans know that.

All the sparrows on the rooftops are crying about the fact that the most imperialist nation that is supporting the colonial regime in the colonies is the United States of America.

The white man has got the gold out of the land which belonged to the red man.

It appears that Hawaii was taken possession of by the United States forces without the consent or wish of the government of the islands, or of anybody else so far as shown, except the United States Minister�. The provisional government owes its existence to an armed invasion by the United States. Fair-minded people with the evidence before them will hardly claim that the Hawaiian Government was overthrown by the people of the islands or that the provisional government had ever existed with their consent�. By an act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress, the Government of a feeble but friendly and confiding people has been overthrown. A substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair.

Who colonized the other – us or them? Did Algeria colonize France, or vice versa? Did Egypt colonize England, or vice versa? We are the victims...

... a renunciation of our further intention to maintain the Monroe Doctrine and would proclaim that we had joined the horde of European greed in attempting to absorb as many of the weaker powers on earth as possible.

For Carolina once ruined and destroyed, the extermination of her [England's] colonial dependencies will follow.

U.S. international and security policy ... has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call "the Fifth Freedom," understood crudely, but with a fair degree of accuracy, as the freedom to rob, to exploit and to dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced.

Mexico seems a doomed victim to Anglo Saxon cupidity and love of dominion.

Whereas the British were generally quite open about the fact that they were running an empire, few Americans politicians today would use the “e” word as anything other than a term of abuse.

[The U. S.] government possesses the power of acquiring territory, either by conquest or by treaty.