Quote:
Originally Posted by Shek
Plus, it's nice to test run thoughts and ideas - I'm trying to develop a list of ten books or so that I think cadets should try to read before getting commissioned or very soon afterwords.
|
I hope your list also includes books that tell of America's triumphs and of American men and women of high caliber who were responsible for great achievements. A book like the Ugly American can be easily blown out of proportion by a young, impressionable person. You've seen the result. The young, bright, well educated person, well versed in all the negatives about his country, to the point of anger, and seemingly oblivious to all the far more positive things.
Quote:
|
Given our history and culture of American exceptionalism (Manifest Destiny, "the beacon of liberty", etc.), I think this book is a great way to bring folks back to the reality that the "American Way" is not for everybody, and in fact, it can do great harm.
|
I suppose it takes a close call like almost growing up in a NAZI dominated country or living in Spain under Franco to realize that America really is a "beacon of liberty." That isn't the American Way; that's the American reality, the Canadian reality and the reality in a few dozen other countries. The American Way is something else. It was and is a combination of altruistic and economic outreach by a properous and generous people whose sincere desire to help the less fortunate was, unfortunately, sometimes left in the hands of lousy stewards. So, you think it's good that we should now come back to a "reality" in which the good things count for little while the incompetence and insensitivity of some diplomats and aid workers is all that
really matters?
I am not saying we should put our head in the sand. Fix the problems when we find them, but we ought to know what we're about and keep our head high. When we wallow in problems, we lose our momentum. Show the kids the mountain top and then warn them where the pitfalls are.
Quote:
|
It is an ironic title to the book in that the book's message is that the people abroad often make us look "ugly", while it is the ugly American that advances our interests (or the simple roaming farmer trying to boost egg production that is worshipped). So, it is important to learn the culture that you are operating in and then apply the levers that that culture sees as influential.
|
What's also ironic is how the concept of exchanging ambassadors has evolved. Originally, it was simply to create a channel through which two sovereign countries could communicate. Of course, right from the beginning ambassadors did a little spying and chatted up the country's elite to see which way the political winds were blowing. But the idea that they would be czars over a multi-faceted, in-country organization tasked with dispensing aid, promoting cultural awareness, and so forth is fairly modern.