Ted, I did a google search and found De Genova's response to the criticism of his original thesis. I would suggest you read it carefully and without nationalistic hysteria.
I already did. Like I said before, he continues to dig deeper in his notions that all evil in this modern world can be traced back to American imperialism.
He's not saying that at all. That's what YOU want to extrapolate from his argument. What he's saying is that America is not the pure virgin many want us to believe.
You can continue to dig deeper and try to extract the few grains of truth from his words.
I don't have to do any digging. I am very familiar with American history......its not all sugar plums and fairy tales.
After all, you wouldn't want to try and extract the few grains from truth from Mein Kempf, would you? No, I'm not saying De Genova is as bad as Hitler.
De Genova is not any where close to a Hitler. Hitler wasn't about truth, he was about a fantasy......an aryan fantasy in which he was the one in control. To me, De Genova is a typical academician, a purist, a theoretician. He wants the US to be that pure virgin I mentioned above and his research says otherwise. He has a hard time reconciling the discrepancy so he calls it out, hoping that people will see the error of their ways and repent. He doesn't understand that those of us outside academia have come to terms with the discrepancy between America, the land of the free and brave, and the reality.
He's still naive and childlike because he hasn't had to survive in the real world.
Just pointing out to you how useless it is to take anything De Genova says seriously.
I wouldn't ignore what he has to say.......its based on researched fact.
As for nationalism, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it.
There are many things wrong with it........its the major driver for keeping people separate.
It's natural for people with a common culture, heritage, and/or geopolitical setting to unite under a single flag and cause.
I don't think its all that natural.......I think its mostly learned. That's why they have us start doing the Pledge of Allegiance in kindergarten.
True, it can get out-of-hand at times and foster racism or arrogance, but to try and diminish it greatly is a foolish notion.
I hope you are wrong becuaes the survival of this world depends on nationalism being diminished.
It's foolish because it's based on some utopian vision of a world government, where there is no rich or poor, race or religion, or any other characteristic that could divide.
Eventually, that has to be the reality or we will not survive as a successful race. The econ. disparities in this world have to be lessened for the world to survive.
By the way, ask your German friends whether they think the EU should be a superpower or not. Seems like they're adopting a new form of nationalism, not renouncing it.
The EU was perceived as a superpower in economic trading terms, not militarily. It was intended to balance out the Japanese and the American successes in economics. After the Iraq war, however, Europeans are rethinking that thesis and considering extending it militarily.
I know I would.
ted |
