The United States’ involvement in foreign revolutions is frequently characterized as cultural hegemony disguised as a struggle for human rights and freedom. It is important to understand democracy as a tool to encourage citizen engagement in political issues—not as an end in itself, but as a way to find a solution to political instability. If a certain country wishes to adopt the American political model, that country itself should assess its own political, cultural, and customary needs—this role cannot be performed by the United States.

The question of whether the United States should be involved in foreign revolutions and government transitions is fundamentally a question of the universality of democracy. Democracy is just a ruling mechanism, culturally and historically derived from a country’s economic condition and customs. Indeed, some people tend to think that democracy is a more advanced system than authoritarianism because it feeds into the American dream and values, such as equality and free will. In fact, democracy is more advanced because it successfully harnesses the masses without igniting their feelings of oppression.

The United States’ unique understanding of freedom is geographically and historically determined. The massive amount of land resources and absence of foreign invasion induces a strong claim to private property and independence. All these practices lead to antagonism among some Americans toward government and authoritative intervention. This sense of freedom from restrictions and individuality characterizes an American understanding of liberty. Therefore, Americans dedicate themselves to preserving freedom of speech, especially political speech, private entrepreneurship, a free market economy, critical thinking, and technological innovation.

When the United States extends these values from a national to an international platform, the impact is huge. For example, I have heard many pro-U.S. conservatives celebrating U.S. democracy, comparing China’s “flawed”  constitutional system to the “advanced” American one, criticizing political corruption in China by using American language of serving “we the people,” and advocating verbal attacks on Chinese government officials using the American notion of freedom of speech. So many Chinese people advocate transforming China into a free country resembling the United States without truly examining the cultural and historical evolution of the political system of China and the Chinese population’s customs. They celebrate American democracy without tracing it to its origin. They embrace American freedom without learning simultaneously about American pragmatism. It is most crucial to learn not only what democracy is, but also why it is the way it is.

I think that the United States should not directly intervene in government transitions in other nations, simply because the United States may not understand other countries’ problems due to cultural differences. For example, students and social democrats asked for political reform against corruption within the Communist Party in China in 1989. When the party authority responded to the request by allowing more freedom of speech and press, student activists pushed for further reform and organized a crowd in front of Tiananmen Square. The regime responded with force and a great number of students died. United States media coverage of the Tiananmen square incident portrayed the demonstration as a democratic movement as opposed to a fairly brutal, insensitive revolt that impeded the process of democratization. This illustrates the fact that a lack of understanding on the part of the United States can prove counterproductive in attempts to aid political reform in foreign nations.

The United States should decrease the level of foreign military investment, which contributes to foreign hatred toward the United States, and, in some cases, terrorism. The better way to help is to create more scholarship opportunities for foreign students to pursue higher education in the United States, selecting international students based on their merit, not financial status. After graduation, those students would apply their knowledge and wisdom in their own specialized fields and transmit alternative values to their fellow citizens, thus becoming the leading force of national transformation in their home countries. It is crucial that it is the citizens of that country, not the American government, that feel the need for reform. I for one have benefited hugely from my education at Wesleyan, which has offered me a great opportunity to explore social sciences, develop critical thinking, and expand my perspective regarding political problems in my home country. In addition, nations should focus on mutual cooperation rather than on ideological confrontation. Values can easily be transmitted via communication at the civil level. I believe humans share these common values, but national and ethnic differences indicate that no country should interfere in the matters of another country.