Mohsin Hamid: Why Do They Hate Us?
With Reflections on America the Cocky
This is worth a read, if only to remind you of what you already know: both the America-is-infallible right and the America-is-despicable left are wrong.
At one point Hamid uses an analogy that I've always thought was particularly apt: America is like the richest, toughest, most powerful man in a small town. First, no matter how humble and pure of heart he is, many will hate and resent him. Second, we're neither as humble nor as pure of heart as we ought to be.
This is largely the fault of American conservatives, fond of screaming about America's near-perfection at every opportunity, and of pushing around anyone who won't do exactly what we want them to. If, that is, they're weak. We don't, for example, push China around. American conservatives like to speak loudly and carry a big stick...though they're hesitant to use it on anyone who might actually fight back.
As the biggest and toughest--and in many ways most successful and admirable--nation in the world, it wouldn't hurt us to quit yelling this in everyone's faces. A little humility would win us many more friends. Something we're sorely in need of these days.
With Reflections on America the Cocky
This is worth a read, if only to remind you of what you already know: both the America-is-infallible right and the America-is-despicable left are wrong.
At one point Hamid uses an analogy that I've always thought was particularly apt: America is like the richest, toughest, most powerful man in a small town. First, no matter how humble and pure of heart he is, many will hate and resent him. Second, we're neither as humble nor as pure of heart as we ought to be.
This is largely the fault of American conservatives, fond of screaming about America's near-perfection at every opportunity, and of pushing around anyone who won't do exactly what we want them to. If, that is, they're weak. We don't, for example, push China around. American conservatives like to speak loudly and carry a big stick...though they're hesitant to use it on anyone who might actually fight back.
As the biggest and toughest--and in many ways most successful and admirable--nation in the world, it wouldn't hurt us to quit yelling this in everyone's faces. A little humility would win us many more friends. Something we're sorely in need of these days.
posted by Winston Smith at
8:23 AM
1 Comments:
This is largely the fault of American conservatives
Amen, brother.
The America-is-despicable left is neglible. It exists, but it is not represented in significant numbers in the Democratic Party. About as extreme as Democrats get is the America-is-infallible-right-is-despicable.
The Republican Party, on the other hand, panders to its base, which has a huge number of tribal members of the the America-is-infallible faction.
A little humility would win us many more friends
Duhbya ran on this foreign policy, but it was a lie from the beginning. Otherwise, the Darth Cheney and the neocons would not have been pre-positioned to exploit 9/11 for the goals they already had.
(See you next door?)
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