posted on January 5, 2003 01:02:37 PM new
AMERICAN EMPIRE AS GATED COMMUNITY
by Brian Eno
The American edition of Time will not be running the piece, as
apparently they think that even the mildest criticism from our warmest
friends will be too much for a U.S. audience to handle. B. Eno
"Europeans have always looked at America with a mixture of fascination
and puzzlement, and now, increasingly, disbelief. How is it that a
country that prides itself on its economic success could have so many
very poor people?
How is it that a country so insistent on the rule of law should seek
to exempt itself from international agreements? And how is it that the
world's beacon of democracy can have elections dominated by wealthy
special interest groups? For me, the question has become: "How can a
country that has produced so much cultural and economic wealth act so
dumb?"
I could fill this page with the names of Americans who have
influenced, entertained and educated me. They represent what I admire
about America: a vigorous originality of thought, and a confidence
that things can be changed for the better.
That was the America I lived in and enjoyed from 1978 until 1983. That
America was an act of faith--the faith that "otherness" was not
threatening but nourishing, the faith that there could be a country
big enough in spirit to welcome and nurture all the diversity the
world could throw at it. But that vision is being eclipsed by a
suspicious, introverted America, a country-sized version of that
peculiarly American form of ghetto: the gated community.
A gated community is defensive. Designed to keep the "others" out, it
dissolves the rich web of society into a random clustering of
disconnected individuals. It turns paranoia and isolation into a
lifestyle.
Surely this isn't the America that anyone dreamed of; it's a last
resort, nobody's choice. It's especially ironic since so much of the
best newthinking about society, economics, politics and philosophy in
the last century came from America. Unhampered by the snobbery and
exclusivity of much European thought, American thinkers vaulted
forward--courageous,innovative and determined to talk in a public
language.
But, unfortunately, over the same period, the mass media vaulted
backwards, thriving on increasingly simple stories and trivializing
news into something indistinguishable from entertainment. As a result,
a wealth of original and subtle thought--America's real wealth--is
squandered.
This narrowing of the American mind is exacerbated by the withdrawal
of the left from active politics. Virtually ignored by the media, the
left has further marginalized itself by a retreat into introspective
cultural criticism. It seems content to do yoga and gender studies,
leaving the fundamentalist Christian right and the multinationals to
do the politics.
The separation of church and state seems to be breaking down too.
Political discourse is now dominated by moralizing, like George W.
Bush's promotion of American "family values" abroad, and dissent is
unpatriotic. "You're either with us or against us" is the kind of cant
you'd expectfrom a zealous mullah, not an American president.
When Europeans make such criticisms, Americans assume we're envious.
"They want what we've got," the thinking goes, "and if they can't get
it, they're going to stop us from having it." But does everyone want
what America has? Well, we like some of it but could do without the
rest: the highest rates of violent crime, economic inequality,
functional illiteracy, incarceration and drug use in the developed
world. President Bush recently declared that the U.S. was "the single
surviving model of human progress".
Maybe some Americans think this self-evident, but the rest of us see
it as a clumsy arrogance born of ignorance.
Europeans tend to regard free national health services, unemployment
benefits, social housing, and so on as pretty good models of
humanprogress. We think it's important--civilized, in fact--to help
people who fall through society's cracks. This isn't just altruism,
but an understanding that having too many losers in society hurts
everyone. It's better for everybody to have a stake in society than to
have a resentful underclass bent on wrecking things.
To many Americans, this sounds like socialism, big government, the
nanny state. But so what? The result is: Europe has less crime and
less poverty and arguably higher quality of life than the U.S., which
makes a lot of us wonder why America doesn't want some of what we've
got.
Too often, the U.S. presents the "American way" as the only way,
insisting on its kind of free market Darwinism as the only acceptable"
model of human progress." But isn't civilization what happens when
people stop behaving as if they're trapped in a ruthless Darwinian
struggle and start thinking about communities and shared futures?
America as a gated community won't work, because not even the world's
sole superpower can build walls high enough to shield itself from the
intertwined realities of the 21st century.
There's a better form of security: reconnect with the rest of the
world, don't shut it out; stop making enemies and start making
friends. Perhaps it's asking a lot to expect America to act
differently from all the other empires in history, but wasn't that the
original idea?"
Brian Eno is a musician who believes that regime change begins at
home.
posted on January 5, 2003 04:49:44 PM new
Well... the socialist states in Europe sound great, but they are bankrupting the system. Germany's economy is the latest to start a downward spiral due to socialism. I think that the stratification of wealth complained of also exists in Europe, but is unrecognized, just as the communists refused to recognize their stratification.
The crime stats can also have many different explanations other than competition.
There is also the question of what the socialist system of Europe produces other than an unmotivated "private" sector.
It could be argued that America has and will continue to produce the lion's share of innovations for two reasons; first because of the competitive system we have and second because that system attracts the most talented people from all over the world.
In any event, the fruits from the US far outstrip those of Europe. But this doesn't mean we should or in fact do ignore the will of the rest of the world.
posted on January 6, 2003 06:56:28 AM new
Not to be picky, but....
The first gated community I saw was a Club Med in Mexico. They pioneered the concept of not having to deal with the locals[1] and putting the most tourist dollars in their pockets, and not the local economy. A French Company, naturellement.
[1]We call them zoos.
You have the right to an informed opinion -Harlan Ellison
posted on January 6, 2003 08:26:03 AM new
I guess we can add musicians to the movie stars in the "petulant millionaires theory of life" club.
I find it comical when Europeans trot out the socialist paradise nonsense with the imagery of banding together with the shovel and creating something. In truth the US rebuilt itself AND Europe AND provided for the defense of half of world for decades. After it's all done, they say "Look what we've got!" Now that daddy is passing on paying many of the bills, trauma sets in. They criticise the US like some demented Uncle, and pay blackmail to prevent incurring any discomfort a la 1938 Munich. The Europeans are beginning a rude awakening.
America has always been isolationist at heart. In the beginning we had the desire to be free of the stupid squabbles that caused centuries of warfare. Now we are faced with the theory of internationalism and we are one world. Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast etc, get to sit in big conclaves and vote how much we have to give to the UN or how we must "fix" our industries.
Meanwhile Brian, we'll leave a pass at the gate for you. Have a nice time but don't forget to leave.
posted on January 6, 2003 01:11:31 PM new"It's better for everybody to have a stake in society than to have a resentful underclass bent on wrecking things."
Whether you are referring to eonomoic or social theory or trying to get everyone to participate in government, this is very true.
posted on January 6, 2003 01:15:42 PM new
Except for the invitation for a member to leave the Round Table, I'd also say that DeSquirrel has for once hit it squarely on the head. I agree with Buchannon when he states that we ought to pull our millitary out of Northern Europe and Japan. Those two have been enjoying a free ride at taxpayer expense for 55 years now and it is tme for it to end and for them to see the world in a real light.
