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August 25, 2004
Anti-Americanism Parts II and III
Alex over at Wandering Mind has parts II and III of his "Anti-American series up. I posted on part one last week. Alex writes well on an important subject. Following are excerpts and my commentary, but you'll want to visit his site and read the whole thing.
In Part II Alex writes on "Religious Dogma and Anti-Americanism" in the Arab world.
Arabs feel humiliated, we are told. Citizens of these Arab regimes know, that after decades of going nowhere, they are falling behind. In reality they realize who is to blame. They will not gather to support leaders who have done nothing for them. They will however, gather for their faith, Islam. Their faith in God is untouched by despots. They see their faith in Islam as their only hope and their deliverance. God will save them, if only they are deserving.
Arab leaders understand this. It is yet another calculated way to deflect attention outward, away from themselves and their ineptitude and corruption.
Amen. Arabs can read their history, and they know that as recently as the 1690's a Turkish/Muslim army had laid siege to Vienna, Austria. A few hundred years before that, and they were in competition with Christendom for control of the Mediterranean. And before that, they were the dominant power. That this is not the case today is not just upsetting in the way we would think about it, for it has religious meaning to them Allah meant for them to rule over us. To them, therefore, they should not merely be equal with us now, they should be the world's only superpower.
Much is often made of the fact that in Muslim-dominated areas of old, they allowed enclaves of Jews and Christians to practice their beliefs. Europeans, at this point in history, would have forcibly converted or slaughtered Muslims had the situation been reversed. But what is left unsaid is that this "tolerance" was only acceptable as long as the Muslims were in control. When the situation was reversed, the tolerance disappeared.
In Part III, Alex reviews the concept of "Anti-Americanism as a Moral Imperative." When the Cold War was ongoing, the Soviets were the obvious enemy and the U.S. a friend, as it was our forces that provided most of the military protection for western Europe. Once that threat disappeared, "American has become the villain."
Like a dysfunctional family, Europe has finally found a way to exist without having to deal with it's own real problems. Anti Americanism provides that vehicle. Europeans need anti Americanism, to justify their own existence. Without anti Americanism, Europe would sooner, rather than later, slide back into her own pathologies. Witness the small flare when Jacques Chirac of France scolded Poland for her support of the US with regard to Iraq. Chirac told the Poles, to, "Stay quiet and mind your place at the European table".
The last 200 years have been the tape measure. America is stronger, faster, better. There is no getting around it. Not just in an economic sense, but in the artistic, educational, political and moral senses.
Our best days, as we say, are ahead of us. They always have been and always will be- it is how we are constructed. We always wonder what is over the horizon and strive to get there. We are not satisfied with what we know-- it is what we don't yet know that has been our obsession. We see the possibilities, the next great thing if only...
Europe's glories, many well deserved, are in the past
Correct, I believe. Added to that their desire for "nanny state" governments and you have real trouble. The Europeans have voted themselves so many benefits that they have become economically uncomplaining. Unemployment rates are several points higher than in the U.S. and they have no idea how to reduce them. As a result, they have set up a number of protectionist measures designed to keep U.S. companies at bay.
It is hubris on our part to think that we know and understand European history better than the Europeans know it themselves. Europeans do not understand our history.
American's are often accused, sometimes rightfully so, of not taking the time to understand other parts of the world. All fine and good. But why is it that other peoples are rarely asked to take the time to understand us?
Posted by Tom at August 25, 2004 10:43 AM
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