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Oct. 27th, 2010 12:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pastmagicI found this in the comments of an article about British Airways Chairman saying "stop "kowtowing" to the USA's ridiculous and inconsistent aviation "security" procedures."
Article here
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We were supposed to be better than the East Germans, because we weren't searched when we crossed the border, and because we didn't have to carry our papers around with us.
We were supposed to be better than the Russians, because we didn't have to fear our own state, to watch what we say for fear of persecution and arrest.
We were supposed to be better than the Chinese, because we didn't torture people or burn books or ban art.
We were supposed to be better than the religious fundamentalists, because we didn't put one religion over the others, and because we believed in reason over ancient mythology.
We were supposed to be the country that thrived on immigration, because we knew that immigrants brought their energy and culture to all of us. I guess that was only when the immigrants were white.
We weren't supposed to be imperialists like the Spanish, the English, the French, the Dutch, and the Portuguese. We weren't supposed to be the country that killed other people to "help them" change their government to one that was friendly to ours.
Now I realize that all of the above was, to some extent, a myth. I realize that viewing ourselves as "better than" other countries is part of the problem. At this point, it seems that people still assume we're "better than" without remembering the reasons why we're supposed to be better - while we are, in fact, becoming the opposite of what we held up as an ideal.
What is most sad to me are the people who tell us to "get out" of America because we still value the ideals that made this country what it is. I think the country is passing that point that states go through, where they become overwhelmed by their own history. I think we're developing a form of capitalism that will be looked at as a form of barbarism, just as we look at feudalism today. And there we will lock ourselves up in our great castle and tell ourselves that we're much better than the folks on the other hill. I just hope the damage we do out of fear - to the rest of the world and to ourselves - is minimal.
Article here
------------------------
We were supposed to be better than the East Germans, because we weren't searched when we crossed the border, and because we didn't have to carry our papers around with us.
We were supposed to be better than the Russians, because we didn't have to fear our own state, to watch what we say for fear of persecution and arrest.
We were supposed to be better than the Chinese, because we didn't torture people or burn books or ban art.
We were supposed to be better than the religious fundamentalists, because we didn't put one religion over the others, and because we believed in reason over ancient mythology.
We were supposed to be the country that thrived on immigration, because we knew that immigrants brought their energy and culture to all of us. I guess that was only when the immigrants were white.
We weren't supposed to be imperialists like the Spanish, the English, the French, the Dutch, and the Portuguese. We weren't supposed to be the country that killed other people to "help them" change their government to one that was friendly to ours.
Now I realize that all of the above was, to some extent, a myth. I realize that viewing ourselves as "better than" other countries is part of the problem. At this point, it seems that people still assume we're "better than" without remembering the reasons why we're supposed to be better - while we are, in fact, becoming the opposite of what we held up as an ideal.
What is most sad to me are the people who tell us to "get out" of America because we still value the ideals that made this country what it is. I think the country is passing that point that states go through, where they become overwhelmed by their own history. I think we're developing a form of capitalism that will be looked at as a form of barbarism, just as we look at feudalism today. And there we will lock ourselves up in our great castle and tell ourselves that we're much better than the folks on the other hill. I just hope the damage we do out of fear - to the rest of the world and to ourselves - is minimal.
