Why is America upset about Russia meddling in their elections when the US has been meddling in other countries' affairs for decades?
For the same reason Russia arrested and convicted Sergei Skripal for spying for the British even though Russia has always had spies in the UK, and the same reason the FBI rolled up a ring of Russian sleeper agents in the United States in 2010, even though the US surely continues to spy on Russia:Because that's how the game works. You can't not play the game, because you know the other guys will, but the game also requires that everyone (a) deny they're doing it and (b) make every effort to thwart the others by pursuing, uncovering, and punishing to the extent possible.International politics are played by overt and covert means. This is hardly a shocker. That doesn't mean, when covert means get outed, that you throw up your hands.Incorrect.When you uncover meddling, you prosecute and convict. Impose sanctions when you can. You also get righteously pissed off, as Iranians and Chileans are about CIA meddling decades ago, and as Iraqis and Afghans are about, well, you know.Come to think of it, some of the fiercest critics of American meddling are Americans. Noam Chomsky, anyone? It's not as if this is unacknowledged.The objective of punishment is, of course, both public relations — you don't want to be seen publicly to be weak on foreign interference, unless you're beholden to the meddling party — and as a deterrent. You need to make covert meddling as risky and difficult as possible. You can't stop it, but you can make it costly.Surely in this case part of the indignation is also a bit of shame that it could be so easy, and, apparently, so without consequence. It is embarrassing that all it took to get millions of people to go to the polls in what looks like a collective temper tantrum and vote in this guy …… was hiring some kids to work gullible Americans into a froth on social media. That is sad, and when people get caught in an embarrassing situation they tend to lash out. It's human nature. Sad.In general, however, it's because that's how the game works.