american chauvinism
Hey,
I have always wanted to write about this topic...but was always worried about the political correctness of the same and "bitching" about the country I am currently living...but..then I gave away these apprehensions to the right to express myself....in a free and a fair world.
The hegemony of America over the world need not be reemphasized...it has always portrayed itself as a messiah of world and a self proclaimed world leader. I have no clue how can a country do so? the people think that they are the greatest living creatures in this world....and that every other human being is inferior to them...be it economic, strategic or as a matter of fact being humans themselves. They have this conception that they are the "best" and there is nothing that can stop them...agreed that they are better in certain aspects of life...for instance their economy is far better than many other economies in the world, their military has the most advanced technologies (and probably the biggest) and they have good scientific research (let me not get to the fact that at least a fourth of the top contributors might not be US citizens at all)...these matters apart...what makes the country think that it is the best...of course...there can be patriots who really feel great about their country...there is no harm in it...and in fact..that is very important...to stand for their country...there are many people in the world who do not and or are not really proud of their nation and keep on complaining about their nation...in private and public...
Patriotism is important...but there is an invisible line between patriotism and chauvinism...real patriots proclaim that their country is the best...but do
acknowledge that other countries are equally good in their own respect...but when people cross over to chauvinism the recognition of other nation's greatness/strengths fails and this leads to conflicts...be it direct or indirect...
Every nation has its history and certain countries might be less or more sovereign than others...I emphasize sovereignty because it is entirely different from the term independence. Any nation, be it independent or otherwise...has a sovereign interest...a supreme national interest of development and welfare of people...that it defines by itself or is shaped by some "leaders/rulers" of the nation...at any given point...they do not surrender their right to govern to foreign nationals...no matter what the situation be. If it is independent...it is decided by their own nationals and if not...other nation's people decide...and hence the difference in the concept of national interest...
There are several aspects in which USA has gone beyond patriotism to chauvinism ...and it is reflected the way it has been conducting itself for the last century...it was not until the World Wars that America knew its power in the world...it was really contended by the way it was conducting its business within and with other nations. It was emerging as a sincere power in the world and investing in its nation and people...The world wars gave it the first opportunity to think big...and as a nation of greatest weapons manufacturer it traded weapons to both sides of the party (or at least part of both) and this was the best time for the US in terms of economy...they amassed huge reserves of currency and grew leaps and bounds. Bot their pride was first hit when Japan attacked Pearl harbor...and it retaliated by annihilating Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I might not be wrong in saying that the US is the only nation in the world that has used a nuclear weapon on other nation. I do not recall any other nation(s) in the world that have the nuclear capability doing so.
The world's so called super powers UK, formerly USSR, France, China and US were the only nations to possess nuclear war heads until around 1970s..when they came up with a brilliant "idea" of Non proliferation Treaty or NPT...to see that no other nation can develop similar nuclear capabilities...not that it was detrimental to the world as a whole...but to see that these nations enjoy their superiority over other nations... at least strategically...this is just one instance initiated by the US to retain world dominance...
There were several attempts headed by the US (or a chief party) wherein their superiority is protected intact...they created NATO, WTO (formerly GATT), the Bretton Woods Institutions, a number of Trade alliances that would benefit the US and many in which the treaties that are unequal and many others to name...including the one on climate change...the Kyoto pact...which...the US played a coyote role of leading every nation sign a pact on the emissions and it did not ratify its position and to date has not done so.
A critical analysis of every move that the US takes...is is the supreme self interest and it does not care the implications on other nations...an instance is the shipping out of manufacturing plants or BPOs to other nations...just to make pennies on the dollar...since the environmental regulations in the US become tougher and the companies could not comply with the same...they shipped their plants to nations which welcomed their decision at a cost to the environment and health of their own people...but for nations struggling to secure two square meals a day...any economic opportunity outweighs it negativity...The largest consumer of wood in the world...has its forests intact and imports lumber from the "third world" nations...the same is the case with oil and many other aspects including that of intellectual powers and competitive persons...some examples include the highly paid professors and researchers in the US who are not their nationals...but that have been given honorary citizenship to retain the intellectual superiority ...and the most funny of these are the athletes from various nations....to my surprise...many of the Olympic gold medalists (or Olympians) were not US nationalists by birth but were "absorbed" into the US once their talent was recognized...this is applicable to people of several facets of life...
Now this attitude has lead to a serious problem in their own nation...their over dependence on "other" people...and their success till date, has made them ignore their domestic problems ... which is growing by the day...I am not an expert to comment on this..but it is evident in the daily news coverage...or any good intellectual discussion...
As long as the nation thinks that it is great and that everything in the world can be "bought"...it is mistaken...and this itself will lead to the destruction of the perceived superiority in the world...
okay..today's time is up...
more later
Avadhani
I have always wanted to write about this topic...but was always worried about the political correctness of the same and "bitching" about the country I am currently living...but..then I gave away these apprehensions to the right to express myself....in a free and a fair world.
The hegemony of America over the world need not be reemphasized...it has always portrayed itself as a messiah of world and a self proclaimed world leader. I have no clue how can a country do so? the people think that they are the greatest living creatures in this world....and that every other human being is inferior to them...be it economic, strategic or as a matter of fact being humans themselves. They have this conception that they are the "best" and there is nothing that can stop them...agreed that they are better in certain aspects of life...for instance their economy is far better than many other economies in the world, their military has the most advanced technologies (and probably the biggest) and they have good scientific research (let me not get to the fact that at least a fourth of the top contributors might not be US citizens at all)...these matters apart...what makes the country think that it is the best...of course...there can be patriots who really feel great about their country...there is no harm in it...and in fact..that is very important...to stand for their country...there are many people in the world who do not and or are not really proud of their nation and keep on complaining about their nation...in private and public...
Patriotism is important...but there is an invisible line between patriotism and chauvinism...real patriots proclaim that their country is the best...but do
acknowledge that other countries are equally good in their own respect...but when people cross over to chauvinism the recognition of other nation's greatness/strengths fails and this leads to conflicts...be it direct or indirect...
Every nation has its history and certain countries might be less or more sovereign than others...I emphasize sovereignty because it is entirely different from the term independence. Any nation, be it independent or otherwise...has a sovereign interest...a supreme national interest of development and welfare of people...that it defines by itself or is shaped by some "leaders/rulers" of the nation...at any given point...they do not surrender their right to govern to foreign nationals...no matter what the situation be. If it is independent...it is decided by their own nationals and if not...other nation's people decide...and hence the difference in the concept of national interest...
There are several aspects in which USA has gone beyond patriotism to chauvinism ...and it is reflected the way it has been conducting itself for the last century...it was not until the World Wars that America knew its power in the world...it was really contended by the way it was conducting its business within and with other nations. It was emerging as a sincere power in the world and investing in its nation and people...The world wars gave it the first opportunity to think big...and as a nation of greatest weapons manufacturer it traded weapons to both sides of the party (or at least part of both) and this was the best time for the US in terms of economy...they amassed huge reserves of currency and grew leaps and bounds. Bot their pride was first hit when Japan attacked Pearl harbor...and it retaliated by annihilating Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I might not be wrong in saying that the US is the only nation in the world that has used a nuclear weapon on other nation. I do not recall any other nation(s) in the world that have the nuclear capability doing so.
The world's so called super powers UK, formerly USSR, France, China and US were the only nations to possess nuclear war heads until around 1970s..when they came up with a brilliant "idea" of Non proliferation Treaty or NPT...to see that no other nation can develop similar nuclear capabilities...not that it was detrimental to the world as a whole...but to see that these nations enjoy their superiority over other nations... at least strategically...this is just one instance initiated by the US to retain world dominance...
There were several attempts headed by the US (or a chief party) wherein their superiority is protected intact...they created NATO, WTO (formerly GATT), the Bretton Woods Institutions, a number of Trade alliances that would benefit the US and many in which the treaties that are unequal and many others to name...including the one on climate change...the Kyoto pact...which...the US played a coyote role of leading every nation sign a pact on the emissions and it did not ratify its position and to date has not done so.
A critical analysis of every move that the US takes...is is the supreme self interest and it does not care the implications on other nations...an instance is the shipping out of manufacturing plants or BPOs to other nations...just to make pennies on the dollar...since the environmental regulations in the US become tougher and the companies could not comply with the same...they shipped their plants to nations which welcomed their decision at a cost to the environment and health of their own people...but for nations struggling to secure two square meals a day...any economic opportunity outweighs it negativity...The largest consumer of wood in the world...has its forests intact and imports lumber from the "third world" nations...the same is the case with oil and many other aspects including that of intellectual powers and competitive persons...some examples include the highly paid professors and researchers in the US who are not their nationals...but that have been given honorary citizenship to retain the intellectual superiority ...and the most funny of these are the athletes from various nations....to my surprise...many of the Olympic gold medalists (or Olympians) were not US nationalists by birth but were "absorbed" into the US once their talent was recognized...this is applicable to people of several facets of life...
Now this attitude has lead to a serious problem in their own nation...their over dependence on "other" people...and their success till date, has made them ignore their domestic problems ... which is growing by the day...I am not an expert to comment on this..but it is evident in the daily news coverage...or any good intellectual discussion...
As long as the nation thinks that it is great and that everything in the world can be "bought"...it is mistaken...and this itself will lead to the destruction of the perceived superiority in the world...
okay..today's time is up...
more later
Avadhani
posted by Avadhani at
10:38 PM
1 Comments:
chauvinism reminds me of you calling yourself a 'genius'
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