| The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, September 20, 2008, By Dan Gardner. ©The Ottawa Citizen. |
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We get the government America deserves. This week, an American economic crisis that grew out of the American mortgage market devastated major American firms and sent a shockwave around the globe. Collectively, we hold our breath. Is it really possible that John Mellencamp's "little pink houses" could take us all down? We'll see. Every step of the American colossus shakes the ground and rattles the teeth of people around the world. And the people of the world know it. A Pew study found 95 per cent of Japanese, 90 per cent of Britons and Germans, two-thirds of Poles and Indonesians, and half of Chinese agreed that the U.S. economy influences their country. That survey was conducted in the first half of this year. I think we can safely assume those numbers would be considerably higher if the question were asked today. The United States matters like no other country because what it does, or fails to do, changes lives everywhere. Whether it wants to make the rest of the planet cower -- whether it's a bully or a mensch -- makes no difference. Not even walking on tiptoes can keep the colossus from shaking the ground. Quite sensibly, the world pays close attention to American politics. In the Pew survey -- conducted in the first half of the year, remember -- one-quarter of Russians, one-third of Mexicans, and half of Britons, Germans, and Australians said they were following the American presidential election "very" or "somewhat" closely. In Japan, 83 per cent said they were following the election closely -- more than the 80 per cent of Americans who said the same. This interest is not reciprocated. A few weeks ago, the Republicans chose as their vice-presidential candidate a former small-town mayor who discovered on becoming governor of Alaska less than two years ago that her duties may take her outside the country. So Sarah Palin did something she had never done before in her life: She got a passport. Questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, Palin noted, in all seriousness, that Russia could be seen from Alaska. Questioned about her lack of foreign exposure of any kind, the governor's spokesman replied that Palin had been to four countries overseas -- Iraq, Kuwait, Germany and Ireland -- as part of a single trip abroad to visit Alaska National Guard troops. It wasn't clear if the governor had spoken to any real foreigners on this trip. Nor was it clear that Ireland should have been included on the list given that Palin was only in Ireland long enough for her plane to re-fuel.
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The election is too close to call at this time. If John McCain catches a little good luck, Sarah Palin will become vice-president in January. If McCain then has a little bad luck, Palin would become the president of the United States of America. A very large number of Americans don't seem terribly concerned that a woman who has shown absolutely no interest in the world outside American borders could soon take charge of the American colossus. On the contrary, Palin seems to be the only element of McCain's campaign that gets supporters excited. She seems so genuine, they always say. She's just like me. And indeed she is. A 2005 survey found only one-third of Americans have a passport. Other sources cite even lower figures. Whatever the precise number, I think it's pretty safe to assume the large majority of Americans don't have passports and most passport-less Americans have little or no interest in the world beyond their borders. I suppose the positive way of looking at this is to recall that, throughout history, imperialists tend to be enthusiastic cosmopolitans. Given the unchallenged supremacy of the American military and the temptations of empire, it speaks well of Americans that they prefer to stay home and eat hot dogs rather than conquer foreign lands and immerse themselves in the colourful ways of the natives. It's also worth remembering that parochialism comes easily to all people. Name the country, zoom in for a closer look, and you will find a substantial portion of its people has little or no interest in foreigners and their inscrutable ways. And indeed she is. A 2005 survey found only one-third of Americans have a passport. Other sources cite even lower figures. Whatever the precise number, I think it's pretty safe to assume the large majority of Americans don't have passports and most passport-less Americans have little or no interest in the world beyond their borders. I suppose the positive way of looking at this is to recall that, throughout history, imperialists tend to be enthusiastic cosmopolitans. Given the unchallenged supremacy of the American military and the temptations of empire, it speaks well of Americans that they prefer to stay home and eat hot dogs rather than conquer foreign lands and immerse themselves in the colourful ways of the natives.
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It's also worth remembering that parochialism comes easily to all people. Name the country, zoom in for a closer look, and you will find a substantial portion of its people has little or no interest in foreigners and their inscrutable ways. We Canadians, in particular, are in no position to criticize American parochialism. There has been so little discussion of foreign policy in Canada's federal election that the campaign could easily be mistaken for a contest to form the next town council of Wawa rather than the government of a G8 nation. And passports? The same survey that found only one-third of Americans have one also revealed only 41 per cent of Canadians have a passport. Let us not boast of Canadian cosmopolitanism. No, the real difference between foreigners and Yanks is that Yanks know what happens elsewhere probably won't matter, directly and obviously, to the product purchases and backyard barbecues to which their lives are devoted. Foreigners are not similarly insulated. "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want," H.L. Mencken wrote, "and deserve to get it good and hard." It's that "good and hard" part that explains the astonishing number of foreigners closely following the American presidential campaign. If Canadian voters screw up, they alone suffer. If American voters screw up, they screw us all. It would be nice if Americans took this into account when they vote but -- as the election of Incurious George and the popularity of Small-town Sarah demonstrate -- most don't. Like parochial dummies in every country, they think about product purchases and backyard barbecues and which candidate they'd rather drink beer with. And they really don't mind if the president knows less about the world than the average National Geographic subscriber. Ain't that America, baby. You can contact Dan Gardner at the Ottawa Citizen. |
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Copyright © 2005 Dan Gardner |