Into The Future, With Blinkers On
By Steve Hynd Wednesday Oct 29, 2008 1:00pm
Over at The New Atlanticist, Senior Advisor to the Atlantic Council Robert Manning notes that a new world order is being forged, with Americans largely oblivious to what's going on.
Don’t look now, but much about last week’s Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) – from its remedies for the financial meltdown to its obscurity in the U.S. – spoke volumes about emerging multipolarity and the historic shift in global power. Was America watching?
The milieu in Beijing, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy schmoozing with China’s President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jibao, suggests that when President George Bush hosts what will be the first of several summits aimed at shaping new rules to govern global finance, he will hardly be the center of attention.
It may have been coincidence that the annual Asia-Europe gathering occurred smack in the middle of the worst financial crisis since 1929. But the symbolism was hard to miss. An Asia Rising holds the majority of global foreign reserves, over $4 trillion in foreign currency; Europe for all its flaws and lack of dynamism still boasts an economy as large as the U.S. Yet most in the U.S. were largely oblivious, with coverage even on cable news networks nearly non-existent, and relegated to the back pages of the business section of the New York Times.
...What does all this mean for the U.S. as a global actor? Well for starters, the stock of those clinging to the myth of a unipolar world makes the current Dow look robust. It was never quite true even in the one dimension where the U.S. is and will remain for some time indisputably overwhelmingly dominant: military power.
But a nation’s power, as the Chinese like to say, is a question of Comprehensive National Strength, with military capability one important indicator. In the real world, a nation’s usable power will differ, depending on the nature of the particular issue. In the world now taking shape, the most sensible operative model for U.S. foreign policy will in general terms shift from Single Superpower to Primus Inter Pares, first among equals.
Now, as a European living in America I'm undoubtably biased, but what Manning is pointing to seems to me to be a manifestation of American Exceptionalism, one so comprehensively pushed for so long that even self-confessed lefties who would like to see America's status as single and biggest bully on the block trimmed fall prey to it. Americans have been told for so long that America's status and power means that it doesn't have to care about the opinions of those beyond its shores unless it wants to that - surprise, surprise - Americans have stopped caring about what goes on beyond their own shores unless Americans are doing it. I've noticed this in my contributions to Crooks and Liars, where I mostly post foreign policy and foreign affairs pieces. With the exception of hot-button issues having an impact on domestic politics such as Iraq and, lately, Afghanistan, foreign affairs posts get about a third of the comments that domestic affairs posts do. And it's not just my posts - anyone writing such posts gets the same lackluster response. Quite often, several of the comments will be along the lines of "Who cares? Get back to the domestic scandal de jour."
(That lack of interest seems to be pretty pervasive on other sites too. The very best progressive or bi-partisan foreign policy analysis sites and blogs get a fraction of the readers that sites devoted to more domestic issues do. Of course, rightwing sites have the same ostrich attitude in spades, with the twist that they want America to continue doing it to foreigners as if it were still a sole superpower and are simply snearingly dismissive of any hint that such simply isn't possible any more.)
Sure, people are naturally more interested in what's close to home. But in today's world what's going on 'over there" is close to home. America's fall from sole superpower will effect every single American's life in immediate ways, from their bank account to their job to their sons and brothers fighting in foreign realms. I wrote once that American foreign policy consists of inflicting domestic policy on foreigners. In the new multi-polar world that's going to have to change some, but it seems to me that there's scant sign on either Right or Left that the bulk of Americans are ready to admit it in their hearts, rather than their heads.
Crossposted from Newshoggers
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Bush & Co wanted unilateralism. Another failure. Instead of being the top country in the community of countries, we're being expelled, mostly by our own actions from that community.
Obama better win.
Couldn't agree with you more. In Europe people who speak a different language, have a different culture and history are mere miles from you. In America we are sheltered by the oceans and by a horribly dismal educational system.
GHW Bush spoke of a New World Order roughly 10 years ago.
He knew that American hegemony was ending, I'd go so far that he and his cabal have been working behind the scenes for decades to bring it about.
His appointment as VP on the Reagan ticket was not to appease right wing conservatives, it was to secure the hold of world bankers, the leaders (such as drug trafficers) of the "underground" world economy, and the corporate militarists on the manipulation of the American economy.
Does anyone think that the destruction of American manufacturing was due to poor planning and trade policy? Does anyone think that the destruction of our financial base was an accident or due to bad managemement?
If you believe that, I have some real estate in the Amazon rain forest I'd like to sell you.
But I think really it the current Bush & co, with Cheney mostly, though he does go back a while, that ACTED as if we'd achieved the unilateralism they'd worked to create.
The point is though they failed because I really don't think they expected the rest of the world to just kind of begin to work around us and go on their way.
Most of the people in America cannot get their heads around the idea that the elitists who run the world and our government are working hard to meet their needs - not ours. The Bush Crime Family and and many other prominent folks in the international financial cabal are all part of the clandestine "plot" to "rule the world." I know - that's crazy......
But, as you see, it's not. I've never heard of this Atlantic Council, but I looked at their website and it appears to be another version of the Council on Foreign Relations(CFR) = many of the same folks are involved.
Really, unilateralism for the US is/was not the goal of the Bush/ Cheney, Reagan, Nixon, or even Clinton admins. - it was just the furtherance of their quest for a global NWO. Even if Obama wins, the financil situation will deteriorate to the point where we'll have to be saved by a creating the Amero and the consolidation of the No. American Union for starters. And, this will be just the beginning....
I'm an American, and I will celebrate the fact that we aren't going to be the world's bully anymore. This country has been, by far, the greatest threat to world peace, and has caused irreparable harm to countries all over the world. A multilateral leadership will only improve the conditions of this planet.
I also heard that there is a new Latin American network forming as well. With admirable Latin American leaders like Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez at the vanguard, I can say that I'm very optimistic about our future.
The Board of Directors, the true rulers of this planet, are changing
just as our planet changes. The elite plutocrats aren't all old white
guys. This meltdown is phase 3 of a multi phase plan.
Phase 1 was NAFTA
Phase 2 "War on Terror"
The final phase will be a world wide mega epidemic that MOST people
won't be immune too.
How is it that you have discovered the existence of the multiphase plan. You think that the Board of Directors (whoever you imagine them to be) is so clever that they can affect the entire world with the end goal of mass murder and yet they can't keep their fiendish plan secret from you?
Someone's off their medication...
you really need to do some readin' on them Internets tubes.
Two people are off their medication...
sound like Mcshame. 'I know how to win wars' 'I know how to capture Bin Laden' ad naseum. The answer being if you know why haven't you shared this knowledge and ended the madness? By the way,I know of a plot to destroy the world by the evil creatures on the planet baccahery. I was told this by their advance scout Emmi Mirri. shhhhhh. tell no one. be vewy quiet.
we're looking at NWO.v.150.03 or so. NWO began about 8000 years ago. Everything since has just been the evolution of economics and politics.
And if Marx is right, we need this NWO so that it can be overthrown. Skip the burgeois capitalism and you dead-end into Leninism, Trotskyism, Stalinism or Maoism- no Utopias there.
Yes it is a shame we have such a sorry bunch of leaders in America. We need to do away with some of these so called think tanks and work with the rest of the world to make things better for everyone not just the top 1%.
But as long as we have a people in our government that put their own well being before the need of the rest of the people they are supposed to be serving we will have what we have today.
We cannot allow the republicans to continue down the road unchecked. They will mess up everything in the future like they have in the past!
Just so conspiracy buffs don't flip their lids:
The phrase "new world order" is in common parlance, and means a change in the world order--no more. It carries no implication of world government or conspiracy.
Conspiracy people falsely (and naively) jump to the conclusion that any use of the phrase "new world order" implies the existence of a group or conspiracy called the "New World Order." But it just ain't so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiBWkNFtrEg
look several posts above you. Conspiracy theorists are in full cry.
The decline of American manufacturing is part of a process whereby the more sophisticated and developed economies become more service oriented and a lot of unskilled manufacturing moves to lower income, lower technology locations.
High end, high skill manufacturing, which takes a well educated workforce and significant R&D and capital investment is still going strong in first world nations.
The New World Order actually has TROLLS???
Believe me, I'm no friend of his, but dissent is not trolling.
Thank you.
And you were right about my Davi/pineapple factory remarks. It was low.
But you were wrong about divus/Deus.
I acknowledged that in the earlier thread.
;D
and the phrase..."Final Solution" is in common parlance too...even back in the late 1930s.
That's what I've been saying all along about Biden's statement about the international community testing Obama. What was unspoken was they'll test whoever wins. We're in the middle of an international crisis right now over the economy. Any sign of weakness or lack of will among US leaders will cause other countries to jump in and and try to fill the gap.
Politics hates a vacuum.
i could not agree with you more.
American's can be divided into two groups:
those who are stupid and selfish and
those who are stupid and selfish.
get my point?
if it's not paris hilton or reality tv
most Americans have no idea what's happening
in the world and less about their own country.
Really? All Americans are stupid and selfish?
Is Senator Obama? Is his wife? Are the millions of first generation immigrants fresh from another country/culture? Are the millions of well-educated, sensible Americans doing business overseas?
There are more than 300 million American citizens, many (like me) living outside of the US. Millions more are interested in learning about outside cultures and nations and welcome opportunities to travel abroad.
As soon as you dismiss everyone around you as stupid and selfish, you give everyone else license to ignore your point of view (as too extreme to be credible).
i don't think all Americans are stupid and selfish, but
have you watched tv in this country. it's mostly
what is called reality tv? i don't watch these programs.
and have you ever watched the court tv programs? the
world see everything that is offered here on tv. what
a load of crap they see. it's almost impossible to
watch anything interesting or educational on local tv or
basic cable. America is so insular that NOTHING else
in the world is important enough including the war in
iraq to take Americans away from football or game shows.
personally, i don't care what you think of me, i am
only interested in the responses to the opinions i
offer. why, because i learn from them, but thank you for yours.
..the programming on TV is not created by accident, but by
corporate fascists - you know, conspirators!!
Complacency can be fatal.
Complacency
canwill be fatal.that GWB, in his eagerness to take America into the middle east and thereby solidify our position as the world's great superpower, ended up relinquishing our position on the world stage. He allowed himself to be played like a violin (make that a cereal box ukulele) by a much smarter fellow named bin Laden.
..somewhere in the middle.
The Bush Crime Family (tm) lost their seat at the table through the continuous blunders by junior. That's why GHB was crying about Jeb's being ran dropped off a dead-end alley - he knew they would be dealt out. Too bad they had to take the country down with them.
Cernig,
As a green-card-carrying European living in America, my primary interest in U.S. politics is world affairs, although many other aspects are of great interest as well seeing as how I'm affected just as much as my American friends by domestic policy.
Can you recommend any good blogs which focus more on international relations and foreign policy? I would especially be interested in those which do not take look only at the U.S. vs. the world, but also Europe vs. the world, Asia vs. the world, etc. (the vs. is not meant to symbolize an antagonistic relationship, just views from different countries about the greater world) Blogs in either English or German would be of great interest.
One of the best shows to premier lately (other than Rachel Maddow) was GPS with Fareed Zacharia (sp?). It's one of the few shows on cable news which actually delves into topics not normally covered by any of the other news shows. Much as I love them, you can watch mathews, olberman and maddow back to back and aside from a few segments they really do offer commentary about the same 4 or 5 basic headlines.
Hi bandit,
I Could, but the spam filters would throw it out - too many links.
There are a good few FP blogs on the Newshoggers blogroll you should try. Empty Corner, Ali Eteraz, American Footprints (esp. Eric martin and China Hand), Barnett Rubin, FP Watch, Iran Affairs, Iraq Insider, Moon of Alabama, Whirled View. From their blogrolls, you should be able to go to other fun places too.
Regards, C
Many Thanks!
I think one of the reasons Americans find it easy to ignore world-wide changes is because it is happening slowly. It generates buzz when a journalist points to a specific summit, meeting, or other and says "THIS is the turning point," but when it comes to the realignment of world economies and military power, it doesn't happen in a heartbeat. The USSR broke up over 15 years ago, and the vestiges of that empire still have massive military and political power. So, firstly, I would say that sensationalism around exactly WHEN the turning point was reached doesn't help much with analysis, nor does it have much bearing on reality.
Second, because a single turning point is difficult to define and yet journalists and pundits continually attempt to do so, the portion of the American public that is paying attention is weary of yet another pundit tolling the bell for American hegemony.
Third, why should such a subject (the evaporation of American hegemony) be treated as though it is something to fear. This is as foolish as the woman at the Palin rally who said she feared if Obama won, the "blacks would take over." Irrational, and second, probably not a constructive reaction. This zero-sum thinking is lazy not to mention pathologically pessimistic. We have HUGE opportunities to take advantage of.
Think of what it will be like for a Chinese person to dwell in a truly international world. Here is an overwhelmingly homogenous nation, being thrust onto the global stage as an emerging power. Do Chinese people have the tools to deal with a multi-polar world. No doubt, multi-polar is better for them as a NATION, and they will pursue that kind of order (provided THEY are one of the poles). But these people are no more worldly than their American counterparts. Indeed, citizen by citizen, I would submit, the Chinese are far LESS worldly than Americans.
Few countries in the world have the kind of diversity that the US has. Still. After all these years, and all our own messy steps towards embracing multi-polarity within our own borders. I've traveled to Europe. European homosexuals, Arabs, Africans, and other minorities have all mentioned the fact that the Americans they actually meet in Europe are the most tolerant people on the planet. Still. Even with all our imperfections and ugly truths. Even with a man carrying a monkey with an Obama sticker on its forhead or people shouting "ni**er" at Palin rallies. Even with all that, I repeatedly hear praise of our country's tolerance and empathy.
Europeans have, by necessity, embraced each other. But look at the Neo-Nazi movement in Austria, the anti-immigrant sentiment in Denmark, the UK, France, and elsewhere. Look at how Koreans are treated in China, or Japanese. People are making economic alliances, but don't pretend these nations will converge smoothly based purely on good judgment and tolerance mixed with self-interest. Please.
Are things changing? Absolutely. But it should not be sensationalized, it should not be amplified inappropriately, and above all, it should not be feared. We have a long road ahead... ALL OF US. The US, Europe, Africa, China, India... everywhere. This is work we must ALL engage in.
Once this election is over and the Democrats begin to get domestic and war issues settled, many more Americans will extend their consciousness beyond our own borders. The Bush years have been a horror for many of us and so we've been fixated on disabling the current government and preventing another just like it. The only way we can do that is politically.
I think we'd all like to know what's going on the world beyond America and how we fit into it for good or ill.
The US has just attacked Syria and Pakistan and has overthrown the Haitian government within the past 8 years, the US has fomented mass violence in Somalia recently, Latin America continues to work on progressing away from US dictates, the ice caps are melting in part because of American refusal to reduce pollution, and Americans largely don't care. I've read a couple of British writers who were surprised when talking to Americans that Americans only seem to care about the economy - in other words, their own personal, very narrowly defined well-being - and nothing else. And as you say, even Americans who consider themselves "liberal" are so imbued with militaristic US-first-and-only patriotism that they think normal human qualities like freedom, effort ("hard work"), fairness, inclusiveness, etc are uniquely American. The only thing uniquely American is the ignorant chauvinism that allows Americans to think things like that.
When you state, "The only thing uniquely American is the ignorant chauvinism that allows Americans to think things like that," I've got to disagree. That chauvinism is inherited from Brits, from whom we're descended vis-a-vis our politics and philosophy.
You got it from the English, Andy. We Scots had nothing to do with it. :-)
Regards, C
Not Scottish myself, I can testify Scots are NOT stingy (or, brain damaged..) as the English often spread the false news. From my personal experience, Scots of both genders ARE very generous, big hearted people, in Scotland, and wherever they are in the world. Most with great dry sense of humor! Even re: males wearing kilts.
Cernig - do you/how often wear the kilt ? With ALL, the full works ?? Ever blogging wearing kilt ? Do you have your own tartan ? Do you ever go 'braveheart' ?
Although StPatrick's Day is for all being Irish, I LOVE the kilted marching pipe bands! The BEST of all parades in NYC, FANTASTIC, perhaps the only one that goes on celebrating unique US heritage with a real kick. 100,000 march along Fifth Avenue, with millions watching, still every year. If I only can, I dress all green/tartan, and go as well.
Usually the smaller Long Island (NY) StPatrick's parades (Hamptons/Montauk has a great one !) bring out separate SCOTTISH bagpipes. Sean Connery does a lot of work to enlighten the world towards all Scottish - his Spring Kilt Day is becoming a fix in the calendar. None of it was possible earlier - that's an improvement! It will take a lot to get U.S. to get it.
BTW: Brits in general are much more relaxed about being Number ONE than our own 'patriots' here. Rule Britannia at the PROMS is never as crude as 'USA, USA USA !! from the hockey rednecks here. Brit soccer fans can be dangerous, never on account of being BRIT, but their whatever CLUB.
Years ago I did live in the UK for a while, having my post-grad research/degree sponsored by HM the Queen, and had to attend some functions related to it. As in the US, the rule was the further from London/Edinburgh, the more parochial it was. Some racism was evident - I was friendly with another PhD candidate from Kenya, and was told by some how wrong it was, which I laughed at. However, except of one fruit vendor who hated America (sold me rotten tomatoes, that fell out of the paper bag within a block), and yelled at America (my accent) in Manchester's center, pple could be sheeple, very parochial, but not very sanctimonious.
I was very highly amused by numerous royalists (local business pple, execs from some major corpos)totally out of all, drinking "To the QUEEN" toasts with a WARM beer !!!! during some official gatherings. They usually were still living in the Empire era, with funny attitooode. Also, I was histerical over little old ladies knitting gifts to be sent to the Buckingham Palace for the Queen's, Princess Margaret's, Queen Mum's birthday or so. Thousands were sent ! media duly reported - it was dumbing down the Brit way, not harmful to others, but getting Brits into sheeple mode. At the same time my local scientist colleagues would tell me that Princess Margaret was just a useless cow. That was before Brits went along the U.S. into Iraq , sent by bushe's poodle, little Tony - and W is considered a bully retard that he is. We are NOT considered number ONE by the Brits, especially with the Wall Street crash - UK is the most affected, much more than any continental Euro country. being friends with US has a high lethal price nowadays - we became an outcast, a crude one ..
Chauvinism is something characteristic of all humans to varying degrees, but a chauvinism so ignorant that it causes people to claim that only their people possess freedom, fairness, inclusiveness, and the opportunity to exert effort is something I've never seen or read about in any other people but Americans. Americans call all of the above "the American dream," for one thing, fetishizing as uniquely their own traits found in all people all over the world. And many really don't seem to know (or care) that it isn't just Americans that are able to exert effort, that it isn't just Americans who are capable of sharing, that it isn't just Americans who are aware of the values of free association, etc. And that's to say nothing of the fact that some of these humane traits are actually more in evidence in other countries. American chauvinism is a truly, I think uniquely ignorant chauvinism.
And I am aware of British chauvinism, expressed most sickeningly in their treatment of India. Still, while Brits looked down upon (and caused the mass deaths of) Indians, they didn't claim that only their people possessed the traits of kindness, effort, caring, etc. They weren't that oblivious to the rest of the world.
"..Chauvinism is something characteristic of all humans to varying degrees, but a chauvinism so ignorant that it causes people to claim that only their people possess freedom, fairness, inclusiveness, and the opportunity to exert effort is something I've never seen or read about in any other people but Americans.
.....
American chauvinism is a truly, I think uniquely ignorant chauvinism.
.
The only other nation/people of the same mentality and willful ignorance: Russians. I am fluent in Russian/Soviet language, culture, history, etc, etc, imperialism, spent there some time, in Russia , CARs, Caucasus, Baltics, etc:
based on total blind chauvinism and ignorance - it's called "Homo Sovieticus" in most of Europe. Appeared firstly in Poland, officially, during the first "Solidarity" thaw of 1981, before the martial law was imposed for 2 years.
The term itself existed in Polish underground press/academia, noticed ~ 1968, after March national student uprising, resulting in massive arrests (with many never seen again) and expulsions from academia for life.
Afterwords, the best universities were 'infused' with "instant academics", people who had little in common with higher learning, but were 'granted' special doctoral degrees (without the usual due process) by the then communist government. These people took over all top positions in all best schools. New "universities' were created from vocational high-schools, to compete for funds and students, and to dilute the REAL established academic organizations, in learning field for often HUNDREDS of years.
It was only possible with this new cadre of "Homo Sovieticus' - many real ethnic Russians with changed names, unable to use Polish language, totally ignorant specimens brought up under the communist system, that was as ideologically rotten as what we have in the U.S. now. The scary part is those over there had NO choice in anything, were totally cut off from the outside world, there was no WEB to find out from. That's not what we have here.
Soviet pple would actually argue with anybody how great this was, and, not seeing your children all week (with kids in 'orphanage-like" institutions for 6 days/week), so you could concentrate on being PATRIOTIC. The current Russian negative propaganda about Georgia has the same nature/origin, and is propagated with a Rovian=Soviet intent (the more repetitions, the more true is sounds with each next one).
having any personal interaction with nthese people was quite scary - as with some robots. Did you see the faces from Sarah Palin's rallys on PA and FLA? Very similar.
Totalitarian Soviet system bred those specimens for decades under strictly controlled conditions before they could be 'deployed', and used for some time. How could it happen in the U.S. with such accelleration??! Dumbing down +.
The one common factor: Soviet revolution of 1917 was financed by the SAME foreign bankers that created then the US Federal Reserve Board (Rotschilds, etc).
Mission accomplished ?!
Seriously, some of you... Jesus Christ. Oh, and read the Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." The only absolute in this world is that nothing truly stays the same in regards to status, wealth, or power. Are their people out there doing everything they can to stay in power? Yes, but to believe there is a group of shadow people who've had power for eternity, passing down the power heritage from child to child, gaming our entire system perfectly every time, outsmarting everyone else who's not in the club and is also grabbing at what they want, is ridiculous and irrational. I'm sorry. That's just my point of view.
your point of view makes you a New World Order TROLL.
Better education about the EU, China, India, etc. is the key to Americans understanding and respecting other countries and putting to rest the belief of "exceptionalism". A big part of the problem is that geographically the US is isolated from most of the world and this isolation breeds much ignorance, hence all the conspiracy theories. With an Obama win we can look forward to a US who will be part of the world community again and not try to be its ruler, as the failed neoconservative movement led by Bush tried so hard to be. Hopefully an interconnected world will never allow such aggressive types to ever rise again.
with Cernig in principle,I will take exception to his painting with one brush attitude towards Us here at C&L as 'who cares?' Most of US here are focused on the most important election in a generation. An election that will impact the rest of this century,and our role in the Global affairs of this century.So,in all due respect, We here are VERY aware and care very deeply about our impact globally in the years to come. This election will impact every nation on Earth-negatively-if McShame wins OR possitively if Obama wins. So,while our minds may be here at home,our hearts are with the nations who will be impacted by the choice We make next Tuesday.
Go back through the archives and see for yourself.
It's not all of us, Dave, but over the years I've had to search out certain commenters if I want to have serious conversation on a plethora of topics that don't directly involve the US. You wanna know why the Turks are so heavily involved in northern Iraq, or why there was that war in Georgia, or why Pakistan keeps Al Qaeda and the Taliban going? The answers have very little to do directly with the US. But the vast majority of C&L commenters would lay these issues directly at the doorstep of Bushco.
instead of blinkers?
is a horse racing term,when devices are put on a horses head to make that horse see streight ahead and not from the sides.I think the term fits here.
{Deleted, Off Topic. SiteMonitor}
But, really, muddy, Cernig is using the horsey analogy here.
Very well then.:)
With Cernig on this. I do feel that by in large most Americans don't have a clue about what is going on in the world around us.
This is a global community now. Like it or not.
To get this information,one has to dig pretty deep here in this country. We do get bits and pieces from our MSM.
But not enough.
What happens in Mexico is very important. Same with South America,Africa, Europe,Russia, Asia, and all the island countries as well.
One only needs curiosity.
JudyLou speaks the edu lang, while you use the horse race slang = BOTH are correct. No need to correct.
2 dictionary results for: blinkers
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
blind·er (blīn'dər) Pronunciation Key
n.
1. blinders A pair of leather flaps attached to a horse's bridle to curtail side vision. Also called blinkers.
2. Something that serves to obscure clear perception and discernment.
.
Shedding tunnel-vision American blinders/blinkers is mandatory for ALL compadres. Foreign languages should become MANDATORY starting in KINDERGARTEN - I am multilingual, having to speak several languages since the beginning. Child of 3 yrs old can communicate in 2-3 languages easily, and remember who in the family, and outside, prefers to use which language as first. Any next language comes very easy later on. Travel helps to see why it is GREAT. My Euro parents understood the necessity of this long before the WEB, having this trend in both their families for generations, as far as memory went, several hundred years back. Although English rules within Intertubes, the best info of the moment often is in another language, or, one realizes even stronger that despite the media censorship in the US, one can get good info from the blogs, some quite obscure. it's easier to forgive our home grown ignorants, knowing that even worse jerks publish worse junk in other langauges. Some of the BEST stuff is still published in English (Der Spiegel is one good source from non-English Eurozone, in good English).
History programs should be rewritten for all levels edu in the US. follow the Euro programs - Chinese etc have never had ANY world knowledge due to totalitarian emperors, then as totalitarian communists.
Whoever knew/learnt anything in China, was destroyed in the 1940-ties by the crazed commies, then again during the Mao's/ Gang-of-Four "Cultural Revolution". Along millions of others, all English (or French, or, Italian..) speaking/ even barely understanding pple were sent to 're-education camps" = labor camps for university professors, professionals and other members of 'intelligentsia", who had to work w/out food or rest, in the rice paddies, pig farms, etc, in chains, until they died within few years - Euros know this, Americans not much.
Soviets systematically killed all the intelligentsia during/after the 1917 revolution. Since then (nearly 100 years) NOTHING was done there except of fueling brain-dead nationalism and suspicion and hatred of ANYTHING/ANYBODY that is different then govt preferred robots in human skin. Their (and Chinese) science is at the FLINSTONES level, technology based on stolen (from the West) industrial espionage. Vicious propaganda rules for 100 yrs, ras-Putin rules thru Deripaska goons. Nothing much to learn from there re: education systems - although one shold know OF 'there'! and, their history explains.
Although this Board is much better than others, ignorance regarding the world is mindboggling. Bring MORE of the WORLD posts - any discussion is better than NO discussion.
And, Dear C&L-ers: pledge, that if OBAMA WINS, you will SERIOUSLY start to learn a NEW foreign language. Since he WILL, you have just a few days to decide which language !
in that article. The EU(United States of Europe) has an economy that's just as strong, large and more diverse, universal health care for it's citizens, in most districts free education until graduation, started tackling their oil dependence 30 years ago (Carter actually put a plan in place, but the lunatic reagan either canceled or outright dismantled it), their infrastructure is in better shape.
Why? Because they're better educated about the world they live in and they make their government work for them, but the number one reason they're reaping the rewards is simple, they did not follow the path of reaganomics. Government is rarely the problem, it's always the idiots running it that create the problems, see: reagan/bush/bush.
Into The Future, With Blinkers On
That certainly describes mcgramps
Driving down the road
With his left turn signal blinking non-stop.
And did not know that blinkers and blinders were interchangeable. Learned something new! I want to learn French! Good idea. Maybe America's jingoism is ending w/the election of Obama.
Very good observation. Thank You
We as Americans are deliberately separated from our foreign policy decisions. How else can we wage 2 wars simultaneously and still cry for our tax cuts?
Isn't it possible that when our leaders talk about "spreading democracy", they aren't talking about people being able to vote and be in control of their own destiny?
Could the "spread of democracy" only mean the ability of corporations to come into a society and exploit resources?
that corporate involvement in politics is constitutionally guaranteed. That's just a feature of how our Constitution has been interpreted.
...only mean the ability of corporations to come into a society and exploit resources?
That seems to be the meaning for the Republican dominated government and the corps in the US.....
I think a major problem with America is its focus on the trivial. We spend three weeks or more analyzing Anna Nicole's death, but when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated/martyred, which was and continues to be a huge deal, it's out of the public consciousness in less than a week. Also, American ignorance on Iran is astounding. I think some people have at least some grasp on what is going on in Europe, but in regards to the Middle East and especially Southeast Asia and Latin America, there is a large gap in knowledge. Obviously, I wish I knew more on all levels, and I try to maintain at least a decent knowledge on world affairs. However, I tend to be more interested in Southeast Asian countries, such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, and in China, India, and Iran.
And, a NWO is not necessarily a bad thing, same can be said for socialism.
"America's fall from sole superpower will effect every single American's life in immediate ways, from their bank account to their job to their sons and brothers fighting in foreign realms. I wrote once that American foreign policy consists of inflicting domestic policy on foreigners. In the new multi-polar world that's going to have to change some, but it seems to me that there's scant sign on either Right or Left that the bulk of Americans are ready to admit it in their hearts, rather than their heads."
Americans don't want to know bad news - we want the guy in the white hat to ride into town and fix everything so we can go back to our own knitting. The chest-thumping attitude has survived Viet Nam and Somalia - we can't admit that we're fallible, there must be a happy ever after ending with ice cream. Half the country still isn't over our own Civil War for Pete's sake.
I am a Canadian that lived in MA for the first 6 years of the Bush presidency. My impression of the 'natives' was:
1) a real willingness to help
2) a belief that the country could (and should) step in to fix any problem around the world
3) and a total ignorance of the true state of the world outside of the continental US
A dangerous mix of military power, evangelical belief, and willful ignorance.
The rest of the world is (and has pretty much always) cheered for a weakened US so that it would be forced to tread more carefully on the world stage.
You know, the original Canadian intention with NATO was for it to act as a brake on US aggression. And it pretty much worked until the second invasion of Iraq.
" A dangerous mix of military power, evangelical belief, and willful ignorance."- very well said. That's what we are.
The world will never figure out how "willfully ignorant" we are, with so much "real willingness to help"
It's to be expected that China will be the big economic player in the 21stC, however I'm interested on how much they want to integrate into the world community. They are already putting out feelers to cooperate re, environmental issues with the US.
The neocon final solution/NWO is in its last Cheney/Bush phase. Watch out for the final bang. Obviously Palin has tasted blood and wants in on it for 2012. The internal ranklings of the GOP right now would be the most intriguing- wish I was a fly on the wall. I hope something gets leaked out pretty soon before the wounded elephant retreats to its lair.
CRIMES OF PATRIOTS by Jonathon Kwitney should be a standard history text for all American high school students. Um, do you still get taught history? Kwitney and Mike Farrell were the only two I noted to oppose the first Iraq War pointing out the War for oil motive.
I know exactly what you're talking about. I took a minute to copy a few comments left on my YouTube profile. Here they are:
1. A moron like you would not understand. So go fuck yourself pussy. America still rules the world. Canada can only watch.
2. secondly, you are canadian and not entittled to an opinion!!
3. Go to hell canada, worry about your own fucked up country.
'NUFF SAID?????
Our patriot larrikin performing their patriotic doooty - once it hits the fan, nothing will stop it .. It's such a paradox - with ALL the world open to them via Intertubes, that's what they are busy with.
We will have a bad scenario going on regardless who wins this election. Obama will need us, to push back all these imbeciles - who of course will vote for Grampa Cadaver and his attack Moose.
I hope you just delete this stuff ?
As an American who has lived the past twenty years in Europe (France and the UK, whether the UK wants to admit they're 'European' or not), it's been an interesting (a) watching the behaviour of Mah Feller Amurkins as tourists and (b) watching the reactions of those in my host countries. America is not liked. At. All. Americans, on the other hand, are. The dicotomy isn't that strange. For one, 'America' generally means the policies and prejudices of politicians who rarely ever step foot outside the States, while the only Americans most Europeans meet are that extremely small percentage who even own a passport, nevermind have the curiosity or the willingness to visit other people's countries, try out their food, their wine, their languages, their cultures.
But just how long that tolerance between 'Americans' and 'America' will last is a worrying guess...
I have a theory about the dichotomy you speak of. It isn't perfect; I see some flaws with it myself. But, I think there's some truth in it.
The vastness of our country, coupled with our relative separation from Europe has caused us to focus inward rather than outward. I mention Europe alone, because that is what you and Cernig seem to believe is the 'new' center of the universe; something which may be as destructive as as an American center to the universe.
In America, we can travel thousands of miles without leaving our own country. We can experience diversity within our own borders. In Europe one might cross several international borders on the way to a favorite deli.
Yet there is still an underlying homogeneous element to that American diversity. This subtly reinforces our erroneous feelings of 'American-ness' being the all-encompassing commonality among humans on the planet.
Couple that with the blatant Nationalism that the Republicans have cultivated and you get an unfaltering belief in the rightness of America-centric rule of the world.
Remember, we're all just animals trying to fend for ourselves and those we love. That, by definition, is an inward-looking endeavor. Europeans would behave exactly the same way had they not been forced to deal with multiple languages and cultures in such a small geographic area.
Modern humans tried to leave Africa more than once before it actually 'took.' No one knows why they were unsuccessful in their first attempts and retreated back to Africa. But 10,000 years passed between the last unsuccessful attempt and the first successful migration.
Ten thousand years!
It seems to me that a desire to stick with the familiar (same root word as 'family') is pretty well ingrained in our human fabric.
I'd even venture to say there are as many people in the rest of the world who 'stick to their own' as there are here. People are people the world over and something as fundamental to our psyches as this just has to be present in everyone.
So, don't blast the majority of Americans for not having passports. It's only people being human.
BTW: The extension of this theory is that now, in modern times, Americans will now be forced to deal with other cultures just the same as Europeans have been. So, there is hope for us I guess.
It's nothing personal, Cernig. It's just that Europe is far, and y'all talk funny.
"...but it seems to me that there's scant sign on either Right or Left that the bulk of Americans are ready to admit it in their hearts, rather than their heads."
What does the HEART have to do with it? It seems you're asking for acceptance and acceptance comes from the mind alone. It requires knowledge of the previous state of existence and the current one.
It seems to me that emotion doesn't enter into it at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzlkvI9EZeA
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