On the Day of 9/11, Americans Should Reflect on Their Own Actions
which dramatically and suddenly changed the focus of the world and its
balance of power. That day which caused America to begin its losing
fight against an abstract concept that is Islamic extremism. To this
day, America continues to think that an equally abstract idea that is
"democracy" can be militarily extended to foreign territories and
defeat entrenched cultural values that previously had no interactions
with.
Perhaps, just as Mao foresaw decades ago that war is a battle of
ideologies rather than armament or military training, he probably
would still be surprised that a country, even one so firmly confident
in its own systems as the US, can be so stubborn in enforcing its own
ideas on obviously "ungrateful" subjects…perhaps only the American
view of the equally foreign and hostile-sounding Chinese ideologies
can be used as an illustrative example.
It reminds of this one class I had back in the day. One day, "China
is a bad place because it's not a democracy." The words came
comfortably out of the mouth of the teacher as if it is a matter of
fact. I was sitting in my first ESL (English as a Second Language)
class in my first day as an American middle school student. Even
though my English was not nearly enough to express my thoughts, I
still stuttered painfully at the venom-filled comment.
The glory and ingenuities of 5000 years of Chinese civilization was
utterly obliterated with one sentence, all because of one thing China
does not possess. The entire class of two dozen people suspiciously
examining at me. A mere five minutes ago, I was introduced as the
first Chinese student to enroll in the school's ESL program for new
foreign students. Now I was flushed red, contemplating whether I
should deny my Chinese citizenship at that very moment.
Seven years later on the day of 9/11, the event has once again come
into my mind as a symbol of my American experience. Initially
thinking it to be an individual case caused by an inconsiderate
individual, the accumulation of rather unpleasant experiences in
America has shown me otherwise. People actively and passively
rejected my culture, vocally and silently showing dissatisfaction
toward my slow acquisition of their culture. But people say, isn't
America the "melting pot," the most diverse place on Earth?
In reality, America is a multi-ethnic place, but never been a
multi-cultural entity.
While a plethora of races, religions, and philosophies flourish, the
blossoming "diversity" is fed by a system of underlining principles
that essentially makes all the visible differences superficial and
trivial. The American people label such principles "freedom,"
"liberty," "open-mindedness," the specifics of which are well
categorized as the "majority." Of course, no one can perfectly fit
into all of the descriptions, but it can be said every person can or
is seeking to fit into at least one of such specifics, constantly
inviting attention for their own supposed greatness.
At the same time, the event also displays the self-righteousness many
Americans come to possess. Believing the superiority of their
political and economic system as well as a higher sense of "moral
values," many simply insist their highly opinionated perspectives to
be correct on issues for which they do not even have first-hand
experience.
While confirming for themselves the accuracy of such statements,
people are willing to use wildly stated propaganda to dispute the
firsthand travel accounts, an act quite unheard of in many cultures I
have experienced over my lifetime. In response, I will be told, proof
is not necessary because such information is produced by the extremely
trustworthy media of America and its allies based on interviews with
those who have finally realized the greatness of "freedom," "liberty,"
"open-mindedness."
Whether they are true or false, it is such beliefs of one's own
infallibility combined with an unwavering sense of national
superiority and cultural exclusivity that induces wave of disgust and
annoyance of America and Americans both abroad and within the
immigrant community at home. Even as I traveled through the large
cities of China, I was accompanied everywhere by the proud voices
filled with anger or disgust, yelling in English, "We don't do that in
America," instantly filling my good mood with dark clouds.
In the US, the Americans ridicule the unusual customs of new
immigrants and loudly denounce the heavy accent in their English. To
avoid such intense scrutiny, new immigrants are forced into the often
crime-ridden and crumbling ethnic communities, missing the many
economic and educational opportunities supposedly offered to all
people in the American society. As stories of such kind spread to the
entire immigrant community and back to their home countries, a picture
engraved in the minds of the foreigners of a pompous American readily
making condescending remarks toward people of other origins.
While there are complexities of the political, historical, religious,
and ethnic issues involved in the occurrence of extremism such as
9/11, the commonly perceived attitudes of Americans in the eyes of
foreigners cannot possibly assist in the current effort to contain and
eliminate the threat of terrorism. With the repulsive behavior of a
few representative Americans both home and abroad, it should be no
surprise that the general impression of America has turned extremely
unfavorable, leading to anger and hatred in many parts of world.
Thus, already existent tensions and conflicts with Americans has been
deeply aggravated, expressing itself in the extremist movements that
is behind 9/11. While individual terrorists can be killed or
captured, without a turnaround in the image of Americans abroad, there
can always be a motive for people to take up violence against America.
So, it is with great sincerity that I hope for Americans to think
twice before making any sort of commentary or actions that can damage
the feelings of foreigners both in here and around the world.
Comments
Post a Comment