tuluum's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Do People Hate America? (editorial) Article: Why Do People Hate America? - by Colin T.O. Brewer Date: Sunday, March 23rd, 2003 Source: www.NationNews.com - Barbados As America marches headlong into war with Iraq, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on why America is so out of step with world public opinion. The pre-emptive strike on Iraq we are all anticipating as I write this article signals a sea of change in American foreign policy in the post cold war period, in that it is a war of choice rather than of necessity against an enemy that is not, at this time, in the opinion of the majority of world opinion, a clear and present danger to the United States and its allies. I have recently finished reading a paperback entitled, Why Do People Hate America? written by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies and published in Britain by Icon Books. The proposition advanced in this book is that the United States is driven by the na�ve patriotic myth that "America" is inherently good and virtuous and that patriotism is the sine qua non of American public life. This leads directly to simplistic dualist conclusions on matters of "good and evil", double standards in support of naked self- interest and political correctness raised to the level of a civic religion. The authors assert that the danger of this idea is compounded by a second myth, borne of its history, that violence is redemptive. It is suggested that these ideas have become the motivating force behind a more assertive United States foreign policy in the period following the terrorist attacks in September 2001. The book introduces the concept of "knowledgeable ignorance"; meaning ignorance on a grand scale masquerading as knowledge and they believe it applies to the United States. They suggest that Americans are encouraged in making simplistic jingoistic assertions such as those currently in vogue identifying all Muslims as sharing a hatred of all things American. The very notion of an "axis of evil", as used by President George W. Bush, is clearly indicative of this mindset. According to the author, the world is more complex than most Americans are prepared to believe and so they quote T.S. Eliot: "Things ill done and done to others harm/Which once you took for exercise of virtue", and inform us that American history is littered with examples of unfortunate consequences arising from United States intervention. Iran is used as an example. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was implicated in the assassination of Prime Minister Mossadeq which led, through the Shah, to a fundamentalist Muslim state which is now an implacable enemy of the United States The book contends that United States popular culture nurtures a tendency to simplistic stereotyping, cultural clich�s and a siege mentality and they provide numerous examples. It argues that United States cultural hegemony and the ascendancy of the "hamburger" culture is leading to the rapid eradication of indigenous cultures worldwide. TV and movies are cited as key avenues for this process. The authors quote Margaret Wertheim, a science writer, "Too few Americans seem to want to know about other cultural options; too few are prepared to engage with other people's choices, other ways of life". To illustrate hypocrisy in United States policy they cite the recently enacted "Patriot Act" which has abrogated the rights of thousands, while the United States establishment continues to hold up America as a paragon of virtue in respecting the legal rights of the individual. They also cite the case of the prisoners at Guantanamo who, according to the Bush administration, "don't deserve the same guarantees and safeguards that would be used for an American citizen". Perceived United States self-interest is a key theme of the book and many illustrations are provided, not least of which is that while the United States purports to be the great global benefactor, foreign aid in the lowest per capita of the 22 most developed countries, is tied to American contracts and 40 per cent of it is consumed by Israel. The United States vetos numerous United Nations resolutions that do not reflect American business interests. We are reminded that the three richest Americans have assets that exceed the combined GDP of the 48 least developed states. The authors argue that while we may dislike American double standards, it is only when it is fused to "hypa-imperialism" that the "Idea of America" is hated, even when we like individual Americans and admire many of their national traits. It is clear that we live in a period when the Monroe Doctrine is being extended and the United States now defines the whole world as its legitimate sphere of influence and no other power is considered as having a competing claim. The authors outline eight forms of economic manipulation employed by America to further its policy of self-interest. In the final chapter, the authors explore what they perceived as an American myth that violence is a redemptive act by which civilisation is secured and advanced. They contrast this with the experience of Europeans who, in the last century, fought two bloody world wars on their own soil and who, by way of example, find it incomprehensible how an 18th century pronouncement about gun control is a conundrum incapable of resolution in a nation beset by appalling levels of bloodletting at the point of a gun. They conclude that what people hate about America is the political entity based on authoritarian violence, double standards, self- obsessed self-interest, and an historical naivety that equates self with the world. We may not feel that the authors have always presented a balanced picture and we may feel some sympathy for the plight of America and, Americans, but this book gives us pause for thought and, as classical literature teaches us, hubris is invariably followed by nemesis. **************************************************************************** Current Clix Ranking: 34 | Previous Clix Ranking: 34 8:39 p.m. - Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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