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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: manalagi who wrote (15275)	5/1/2005 11:00:57 AM
From: manalagi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 363624

> > The insular American > By Derrick Z. Jackson \| April 29, 2005 > > NOBEL LAUREATE Wole Soyinka used to ask people not to > exaggerate the > insularity of Americans by saying things like: ''Can > you imagine the > Americans? Nobody else plays baseball and yet they > call their series the > World Series." He used to say, ''C'mon, that's not the > issue. That's > superficial." > > He does not defend us anymore. ''I'm sorry," he says, > chuckling. ''I've come > around to the conclusion that it's not superficial at > all, that it is an > index we better be aware of." > > Soyinka, who turned 70 last year, is in Cambridge to > be honored by Harvard > University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. In an interview > yesterday, Soyinka, > who has braved death many times in his native, > turbulent Nigeria, says that > for all of our technology, Americans are now among the > most insular and > least curious people in the world. > > He says it remains common for him to hear people > wonder whether Africa is > still colonized by the British, and conflate world > events to where ''they > think the Yugoslav war was taking place in Asia > against Chinese Communists." > He says Americans' lack of curiosity is stunning. > > ''It doesn't matter whether it's blacks, it doesn't > matter the class, it > doesn't matter the level of education," Soyinka says. > ''Some of the most > brilliant of my colleagues in universities here are so > insular that it > hurts. I find it very difficult. > > ''The basis of it is a lack of an integrated exposure > to other societies. > This is one of the most insular societies I've ever > encountered anywhere. > And I'm not talking just about ghetto kids. Professors > . . . parents . . . > legislators. It's across the board. That is something > you do not find to > that extent in the rest of the world." > > Soyinka extends that insularity all the way to the > White House, describing > President Bush as a religious fanatic who has helped > Americans become > ''slaves of fear" with his rhetoric about weapons of > mass destruction. In > his current book ''Climate of Fear," Soyinka likens > Bush's > you're-with-us-or-with-the-terrorists rhetoric to > McCarthyism, ''where the > mere failure to denounce the communist ideology with > satisfactory fervor or > to denounce one's colleagues for communist sympathies > became an unpatriotic > act." > > Soyinka yesterday reaffirmed his sentiments about > Bush: ''I believe it is > impossible for him not to realize by now, even though > he may not admit it, > that he has committed a very grave blunder. It seems > to me just impossible > for somebody in that position, with the kinds of > pronouncements he's made, > not to realize that he's been living in a fool's > paradise he has created. > > ''The world is far more complex for a nation, however > strong, however big, > to say that he doesn't care what the rest of the world > thinks as long as > he's doing what God intends. That kind of language, > that kind of belief is > what makes any leader, any human being dangerous. . . > . Many Americans are > in a mental bunker. Any information that tries to > penetrate that bunker is > rejected as enemy intellectual action." > > Americans so reject the world, this man of letters > says he would not even > recommend a book as the first step to critical > thinking. ''I would begin by > saying geography should become a compulsory subject," > he says. ''If > geography is not taught in schools, parents should > begin to teach it in the > home. > > ''For me, geography is the summit of human existence. > It dictates the > culture, it contains the history of how human beings > actually recreated > existence depending on the environment." In the United > States, he continued, > ''geography is 'What is the capital of California?' > and once they say that, > they think they know the world. > > ''The way we were taught geography, it is what made us > so confident in the > critical assessment of other nations. We know them, I > mean, you don't know > them all the way, but we know them in a way that is > fundamental to the > relationship of humanity to the natural environment. > > ''Once people understand that, you understand why > Eskimos live in igloos, > and you don't see that as backwards but as an > intelligent use of resources. > You understand why certain peoples eat horrible > looking grubs and you > recognize them as superior to hamburgers. Curiosity > precedes critical > thinking. If you're not curious, you can't think." > > Soyinka laughs one more time when he says geography > was even more important > than history. ''History can always be cooked up, > written from the winner's > point of view. History is 90 percent fiction. > Geography is the material > reality from which everything else derives." > > Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is > jackson@globe.com. > > boston.com > /29/the_insular_american/