Rishikesh, India From abroad, I have watched the image of America roller-coaster since that fateful day of 9/11. From pitied to pariah in eighteen months, how fortunes change. I have listened to ill-informed, mis-informed, and very-well informed world citizens (backpackers like myself) and citizens of many nations hold forth on geopolitics, terrorism, globalism, enviromentalism, capitalism; all the -isms that scream for our attention from the daily headlines. In these discussions, I sometimes play the role of American advocate, sometimes that of American apologist, but always that of full-time American. My observations: The world loves us. And the world hates us. I Want to be Like Mike The world loves the American way of life - the consumption society and our abundant material comforts. This is envied and emulated everywhere. Everywhere I go, I see people wearing Nike or NBA shirts; ball caps invariably sport 'NY' or 'LA'. They clamor to eat at McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut. They quaff Coke and Pepsi. Everywhere you look, American logos scream forth from shops, signs, billboards. They surf CNN and Yahoo! and Ebay on the predominantly English internet on Microsoft software. Their local soap operas and news comes with Baywatch sandwiched in between and MTV available everywhere. Local cinemas play Hollywood blockbusters, with prirated copies on sale outside. |
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Still Waters Run Deep
The envy of our material success breeds much mimicry of our system, yet often without the proper underlying foundation of individual rights, democracy and rule of law. Capitalism-lite in many countries has devolved into crony kleptocracy, souring the masses to insensitive markets running roughshod over small farmers, ancient communities and traditional values. (Witness the backlash against the WTO and IMF and UN.)
Not that our system is perfect, but you have to hand it to a hundred white guys who wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights two-hundred years ago.
Without the proper 'software' like courts and laws and government, the accoutrements of capitalism ring very hollow and inflexible, becoming vulnerable to volatile markets. The 1997 Asian crises, Russian crisis, and current Venezuelan, Argentinian and Brazilian problems bear this out. Its imperative to build the institutions that regulate a free-market democracy; it cannot be faked.
Hypocrisy Democracy
And they hate us. The most negative feedback about America seems to boil down to our 'sanctimonious hypocrisy'. In the world's eyes, its "do as we say, not as we do." We do not practice what we preach; and we certainly apply our principals inconsistently in the eyes of the world. They see us as arrogant bullies.
We want to liberate Iraqi citizens, but not Saudi Arabian or Syrians or Pakistanis or Chinese. We will attack Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, but not North Korea or India or South Africa. We decry Hamas violence, but not equally egregious Israeli responses. We shower money on rebuilding Afghanistan and bribe Turkey, but aid not Zimbabwe or the Congo.
We make ill-advised friends of convenience, favoring patchwork short-term solutions over long-term problem solving. This thinking resulted in the Shah of Iran and now we chum up to Musharraf of Pakistan, smiling for CNN while making himself dictator.
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