The Cloud of Eastern: Good and Bad Nationalisms - Essay Example

Think Piece - 10 Stories Story Legitimacy in a Pluralistic World When the United s came into existence in 1776, it started with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and a method by which the people ruled, based on those who were elected into positions of decision-making powers. It was understood that the people, however, made up the position of “boss” while those elected were the “servants” of the boss. In two centuries, things have changed and there is now the quest for ‘legitimacy’ in the justification for the right to govern. During the course of governing a nation, is it better to do what the people vote for or should it be what the ‘public servants’ see as being good for the people? Never more so than in these last elections in the United States, have elected officials determined that if they were elected by their own constituents, then that meant that they were the chosen few who were allowed to represent the people’s choice and that the choice would do whatever was best for the people. But when there is a president who takes this vision too far by signing in another 20 executive orders over two days without consulting Congress, then when does it become a case of ‘divine right’ of kings instead of a president that looks out for the people? The one side complains of a president gone wild in abusing the rights of his powers while the other side says that if no one else is able to do the job, then the president must get it done by whatever method he can use. Signing executive orders, as a legitimate avenue of action, is one method which appears to have no boundaries. Is this more a sign of the times, a sign of a people who need a different type of governance, a sign that a Constitution has outworn its right to exist? Even our families have fallen apart as evidenced by the high number of divorces, something almost unheard of in previous centuries. The modern family is restructuring itself, looking for legitimacy in single parenthood. Is it right? Time will tell. Story 2 – Beyond Reason: The Nature of the Ethnonational Bond It is an interesting thing to look at ourselves as being from a country but more so to think of ourselves as being part of a clan within a country. There are times when the clan, be it a Scottish clan, or as in Italy, a Sicilian, one separates out to our bloodlines and our heritage. Yet, in times of war, we suddenly become one with the land we live in again. We are Scottish and part of the United Kingdom or we are Italian even as we are Sicilian. As Sicilians, we can be angry with the leaders of our country and think about breaking away to become our own country. Yet, when we are all threatened from outside, then we are one country only – Italians. In the United States, the people come from all backgrounds and many nations. Some are obviously still maintaining the characteristics of their country whether it be Mexico, Iraq of the Middle East, or South Africa, even while living in the modern world of the United States. Many cultures make up the fabric of American living, particularly within the family setting. Yet, if another country were to threaten the United States, similar to what occurred on 9/11, then we become all one people again – Americans, land of the brave and the free. In the recent elections in the United States, rumblings were heard about divisions of Republicans and Democrats. Some States even threatened to secede from the Union. Yet, if some other country was to attack the United States, suddenly there would be one face again, that of the American people, whatever the politics or the religion. At some other time, people would regain their Mexican ties or their German ties or even their Texas ties, yet for now, it would be all about being American. It is funny how we, as humans, sometimes separate ourselves down to specific characteristics and define ourselves as one thing or another. At other times, we become one again with the collective crowd. Story 3 – Ethnic Groups and Ethnic Identity Formation We identify ourselves by our ethnicity. That really depends on where one lives. If it’s in England, we might be from Wales or Scotland or even Ireland. If our upbringing in the family structure included those specific activities, manner of speech, music and songs that are particular to our upbringing, then we continue those forward into adult life as part of our unique structure of upbringing. How about those who are practicing Muslims although they may be from any country in the Middle East? In this case, it is a religious identity, known for the type of clothes that, particularly, women wear when out in public. Behavioural manners in interactions with others also tell us stories about how people live and what their beliefs are as regards limited interactions between men and women, and between men and men and women to other women. In adjusting to Western living, some of these things may change but if there is a strict limitation set at home as regards women’s freedoms, then there is not much difference between living in the Middle East and living in the West under the cloud of Eastern or Muslim lifestyles. One must question sometimes, why devout Muslims would even move to the Western world as in the United States or Britain or even France where lifestyles are far more open and free than in the Middle East. Perhaps the family wants a Western education for their sons, even their daughters but they want the children, even as adults, to retain their religious heritage. In the late teen years, this can be quite a time of trauma for those with rigid family morals and habits. It is hard for young teens in repressive ethnic groups to see others of the same age, doing things that they can’t do. It provides a sense of resentment perhaps. As evidenced in the United States and in some European countries, Muslims want to instate Sharia Law yet many of these laws are harsh in punishments and women suffer the most. Who gives in first? The land moved to or the family with its own cultural laws? Story 4 – Imagined Communities In the 1400s of European life, certainly religion as preached in churches was the main way most people knew of the stories of the Bible, what was right and wrong as depicted by the Church, Catholic or otherwise. People might learn of other countries and those people from those who travelled often and came back to pass on stories about the strangeness in other lands. The advent of knowledge most definitely came with the printing press and those who learned to read and write. At first, this would have been more for the nobility. Later that extended down to the Middle Class and then finally, to all people who made the effort to learn how to read and write. In this, men and women began to learn more about others but also about themselves as part of characters in stories written. There was also philosophy and science for those who could grasp such things. In the early years, Latin was the main language in Europe because of the Catholic Church and then each country began developing its own written version of language to represent what was spoken. As a consequence of the printed word, people began to recognize an identity of themselves rather than just something that the Church or the courts put out as definitive of all mankind. Scientific information began to grow and thus, inventions were shared across borders. Math became an integral part of someone’s education, usually still for the upper class, yet information spread for those who dared to learn more than what was given in church. Indeed, to think that the invention of a printing press changed the face of the world forever is truly awe-inspiring. No longer did books have to be copied by hand – they could be mass-printed and sold. And today, we now type on computers where ink is not wasted, nor is paper – unless we choose to print out our work. Otherwise, a book is now electronic. Story 5 – Good and Bad Nationalisms How do we look at the nations of this world? We accept certain features of Western countries and reject features of Eastern countries. Yet those in Eastern countries would reject features of Western countries as being too liberal, too carefree. In many ways, there are good features about Western and Eastern countries although those features would not easily reside side by side. And why should everything be the same anyway? Isn’t good to have such opposites to what we might be used to? What of the arts and cultures, cuisines and crafts of other countries? Is it not a good thing to visit other places and meet other people who are so different from us? After all, we do not have to stay and live there – we can come home again. Yet the knowledge of other ways of living are interesting because, if at the very least, we may realize we do not want to live that way. Yet we love the art of that country we visited. Our forms of nationalism are based on the way we live and that is defined by our cultures and how we define a successful life. Perhaps in the Eastern world, it is defined more by how one thinks through the vagaries of life rather than how much wealth in money, cattle, camels or even wives, have been accumulated. Yet, for the first time in our global existence, with the Internet and social media, people are learning more about each other in different parts of the world. This has impacted economies from both types of nationalisms. Learning how to deal with the mental conversion of one culture to another, is a true education in globalism and being successful, no matter where you are in the world. For example, a Chinese business woman may feel more comfortable dealing with a Western businesswoman but not a Western businessman. There are still cultural boundaries – yet they are changing slowly but inevitably as our global world views begin to mesh together into a common economy and business infrastructure. Yet it still pays to understand the cultural background of our global partners. Story 6 – Equality for Minority Cultures Equality of minority cultures in today’s world hardly seems like it would be an issue, at least in Western countries where differences are almost prized as being someone special. In the United States, the last one hundred years have changed how blacks (or African-Americans) are perceived and how they are able to receive benefits when the need requires them to file for those. In fact, it would seem that the American society bends over backwards to help those considered minorities such as Blacks and now, Hispanics, those who cross the Mexican border illegally or otherwise. In the United States, anyone with a medical emergency can show up at a hospital, be admitted and treated, even if they have no insurance, something that is seen more and more. When a job is lost, an American can file for unemployment benefits so long as there was not theft involved as part of losing a job. Can’t get a job and unemployment benefits run out? There’s always welfare and here it can get quite tricky. You can only get welfare if you have dependents such as children. If you are a White person and single, or without children, then you cannot obtain benefits other than food stamps. There’s no help for rent. Ask for help from charities, you say? If you don’t have a job, then the only way to get help with rent is to have children. Otherwise, you are out of luck and most likely, out of a home. Perhaps there should be a program that allows you to rent children for a certain period of time so you can get benefits in order to take care of both the children and yourself. Some families totally subsist on welfare for years. One child can grow up and leave home. Just so long as there is another underage child at home, then the benefits keep rolling in. Sounds like quite a career in fact – specializing in pregnancy every two years. Space it out right and you’ll never have to get a job at Wal-Mart or the 7-Eleven down the street. Old White women need not apply. The Salvation Army down the street may have an empty bed for you though. 7. The Colonial Trap When we look at Colonialism throughout the centuries, it is easy to see how things have always ended up the same way. The country, England, for example, sets out to open trade routes across Eastern countries such as India and even into China. In the initial arrangement, the British exist in conjunction with the local population. Then comes France to carve out a piece for herself and, all of a sudden, England must determine a territory to call its own. So does France, and then so does Russia and whoever else that shows up. Decades later, the people of India and China are now going to England and France to get university educations and open businesses and they are no longer subservient to England, France, Germany and the Americans. As Western ways of doing business and the lure of commerce and making money take hold of former Empire countries, these countries now ‘invade’ their former masters who are mere shadows of the great Empires they used to be. Yet it is a necessary progression of things when populations must evolve so as to work with others on a global basis. As an interesting point to be made, China and several Middle Eastern countries were quite advanced during the Middle Ages, yet those countries did not send travellers outside borders to search for other populations because they looked more inwards as a cultural entity. Westerners tended to think beyond the borders, perhaps because of the realization that Rome was once an Empire and therefore, there may be other empires to be found. Indeed, that was true and many advances in science and math came from Eastern countries. The Americas would not have been discovered if it hadn’t been for the search for gold and other commodities which was extending West rather than East in hopes of finding and developing more commerce. It was all in the name of extending power and finding more wealth. Story 8 – The Institutions of Culture: Multiculturalism Australia has a beginning history much like North America in that modern civilization began with the colonization of Europeans in search of new trade routes. New South Wales was begun as a penal colony and later, after a Parliament was established, became a free settlement, much like the Americas. The founding civilization, however, was the aborigines who, at first, were friendly and willing to trade. Things became difficult once the aborigines realized what effects the colonists were having on their habitat and resources. While the early colonists were mainly British, over time many different immigrants have now made their way to Australia to settle down in this new world. As always happens in cases like this, the current population is now multicultural, bringing in many new ideas but also bringing its own set of problems. The aborigines, much like the American Indians, have also had to adjust to the new cultures in order to survive, even while keeping their own culture alive as best as possible in a new world order. As in other countries, particularly in Europe, it is recognized that in some cases, certain cultures do not exist well within the modern age of multiculturalism. This has to do with those cultures that have a tradition of repression such as Islam and its religious practices and Sharia Law. In this situation, the law of the land must preside over all other laws, religious or otherwise there would be total chaos. There cannot be one law for one group of people and another law for another group of people. This is why, for example, the United States, while Christian-based, also purports to keeping religion out of its dealings with the people even though Christian principles and value are at the basis of its laws. These are more humanitarian however, with merely a nod to Christianity. Marriages, for example, can be done in any religion but each couple must also register with the government in order to realize lawful benefits and recognition. Culture may exist but land laws rule over all. Story 9 – Assessing the Backlash against Multiculturalism in Europe In line with the previous discussion, the Islam religion presents its own problems unique to itself because of its repressive principles which go against Western thinking about how people have equal rights and privileges. In the last several decades, many Muslims have moved to European countries and have also headed to the United States as well. When Muslims begin requesting that their laws be made part of the legal system, then there is a big problem as many European countries are now finding out. Both in theory and in practice, the idea of Muslim laws as actionable within Western countries just cannot happen. There is too much of a clash between values and principles as defined for all humans. While countries may want to be open to all cultures, there are drawbacks to allowing for all cultures to assimilate into the fabric of a country if that culture cannot fully adjust to the country it has moved to. Essentially, ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ is a term that must be remembered when someone moves from another country into a new one. It is not the duty of the new country to bow down and be assimilated by the new person. Rather, the new person must assimilate into the new country instead, accept its culture, its arts and crafts, and learn the language. Indeed, if someone is taking a vacation somewhere, the whole idea is to go somewhere that is different than home in so many ways. We are there to experience a different life, not to go somewhere that is just the same as at home. In that case, why go anywhere for a vacation when you can just stay home and relax. If we look at the issue of Muslim women wearing veils, it is not so much that we can’t see their faces but that they must be recognizable as not being terrorists. While this may be an aspect of their religion and custom, in a cautious Western world, we do have the right to expect a certain deviance from a custom that might be potentially hazardous if allowed to go unchecked. Multiculturalism has its place but so does conformity to lawful protections. Story 10 – Internal Colonialism How might we define Internal Colonialism? Is it that certain cultures provide people who tend to be garbage collectors and others who will do cheap construction labour? Are certain people and cultures stereotyped into certain lifestyles because that is how we see them? Even if they were to go to college and get a doctoral degree, are they still assumed to be suitable only for menial jobs at first glance? When we see homeless people on the street, do most of us immediately assume that they must be on drugs, that they are lazy and irresponsible, and this result is what they deserve? If we were to go ask each homeless person what circumstances brought them to this level in life, how many would have circumstances that actually fit that perceived criteria? Internal colonialism can be known by other names: racial profiling, visual prejudice, cultural stereotyping, and economic snobbery. These assumptions of belonging to another class of people can be made visually because of skin colour, dress code, personal hygiene, even the type of hair or hair colour. Indeed, it is always wise to remember that famous statement of ‘never judge a book by its cover.’ Those who have careers on the stage, particularly in acting, recognize the process of changing ‘one’s cover in order to look and sound like someone else.’ How do the covert operators among us get around so easily? They dress so as to conform to what is around them so as to not be noticeable. In fact, a witnesses to a crime would say that they saw someone but could not describe any outstanding feature because the total picture was ordinary. There was nothing that stood out to make that person more noticeable from anyone else around the crime scene – other than that the suspected murderer was running away. Therefore, we must be careful not to make too many first-glance assumptions. There may be more to the picture than meets the eye. Read More