Howdy!
Derek, re: ...you make yourself look the complete idiot.
Not only did Yiwu make him/herself look the complete idiot but he/she perfectly illustrated the reasons as to why the US are such a geopolitical superpower while China is merely able to assert her demographic and economic clout.... Besides, it reminds me of an interview of former US President George Bush about Cuba: Larry King asked Bush if he'd agree on sending humanitarian aid to Cuba as the island was severely struck by a hurricane --despite the ideological divide. And Bush told Larry King that he was pretty sure the American people would wholeheartedly help their Caribbean neighbours provided that the US aid goes straight to the Cuban people and not through the hands of allegedly corrupt official middlemen.
Hence, my point is to show American staunch isolationists that the US just can't take the liberty of behaving like any other ''ruthless power''. In other words, Americans can't simplistically separate the so-called US's economical/financial vital interests from the ''American Dream'', that is a mix of altruistic and democratic values --even though most of it comes down to wishful thinking. In short, Americans can't hope for the US to ideologically shrink into Canada! (which isn't meant to be derogatory to Canadians).
Moreover, the American ideology is intimately intertwined with the US's down-to-earth financial interests: Hollywood, for that matter, is one of the prominent export industries of the US, trailing a large part of the leisure biz behind it (from theme parks to soundtrack CDs to movie merchandizing). Likewise, the worldwide popularity of pop stars such as Michael Jackson, Elton John (I know: he's Brit!), the late Elvis Presley, etc. also follows partly from the ''American Dream'' ideology. Ironically, America's ghetto culture, despite its contrary ideological message, was hijacked by the American mainstream machine as well: nowadays, in Europe's deprived suburbs, most youths identify themselves with Black rappers, although only a small minority among them is black (the majority is white, whether of North African or European descent).
Similarly, today's exponential growth of the Internet, somehow, rides piggyback on America's frontier ideology: when people around the world purchase US products and services, they are not only ''buying politically colorless products/services'' --they are buying a small piece of the American Dream as well! As would-be technopolis around the world (Cyberjaya in Malaysia, Bangalore in India, e.g.) equip themselves with US IT gear (PCs, telecom switches, software, satellite dishes,...) they simultaneously sign on for the American agenda about free speech, free flow of information, and censorship.
So, all in all, my point is to show that the US of A can't indulge themselves in a cynical, cold-blooded diplomacy --at least officially-- since such a betrayal of the so-called American Dream would instantly backfires upon the US economical fabric as a whole.
Regards,
Gustave. |
