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President Camacho 
Freshman
Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Posts: 248
Gender: 
Location: Miami, Fl
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 Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 8:29 pm Post subject: Borders
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I was going to post something like this in my blog but it wouldn't let me post it so I got infuriated and killed the entire blog!! AAAHHRRRGGHH!!
RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE!!!
The east and west have never completely shared a single culture. The east, it seems, has attempted to hide its people from western culture such as the west has never done in such a degree.
The east has protected their culture in a way that a turtle would envy. Most of this is due, I feel, to different political policies throughout most of the histories of the major Asian civilizations which include China, Japan, as well as other southeastern Asian societies.
Doesn't it seem that these countries like to turn in on themselves and cut out the outside world and the influence of other cultures? I think about China's history, Japan's attempt to cut out the West (Perry/Black ships), the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and the West's sordid history in Vietnam.
It's a different approach than the west has taken to achieving a distinct culture. The west assumes that might is right. That hegemony has the ability to legitimize a certain culture while whoever is failing to be the best obviously has a flaw with their culture and should change in order to meet the challenge.
The East seems to rely on their own traditions, right or wrong, as long as they're their own...or at least it seems. Today, most of these countries are adopting western ways of doing things such as Japan, China and now Vietnam but the instinct and desire to fold in on themselves seems ever present.
Take for instance China and the Olympic torch madness. Now Chinese people seem to be highly nationalistic and really feel that China is owed respect for its economic success. Like the West should nod or kowtow in approval of China's rise to POWER!
This is still a communist country. This isn't a democracy that values human rights. Why should anyone consider them in the 'right' due to their new economic 'might'. The Chinese people are sorely disillusioned if they think that this is how they can earn the respect of the western cultures.
Stupid comes to mind... and stupid is dangerous when it is replaced by frustration and anger. The Chinese government better start educating their people on how they can earn the respect of the West before they get so angry that they wind up revolting against their own government because they haven't achieved the dues they feel they're owed. |
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Ophelia
Beyond Awesome
Fiction Moderator
Book Discussion Leader
Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1070
Gender: 
Location: France
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| Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 12:49 pm Post subject:
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Oh, so that's what happened?!!
I tried to read your blog today and couldn't find it...
I hope it's not irretrievably lost. |
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Ophelia
Beyond Awesome
Fiction Moderator
Book Discussion Leader
Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1070
Gender:
Location: France
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| Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 1:05 pm Post subject:
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| Quote: |
| Take for instance China and the Olympic torch madness. Now Chinese people seem to be highly nationalistic and really feel that China is owed respect for its economic success. Like the West should nod or kowtow in approval of China's rise to POWER |
I've heard that the Chinese say that the West is protesting about the Olympics precisely because it is greatly annoyed at China's econonomic boom and takes the situation in Tibet as an outlet for feelings of anger at Chinese economic power.
Then, about the West not going to kowtow... It depends who one means.
People and human rights' organizations will protest, but the business world and the governments are great friends of the Chinese who are such important trade partners. So, from a certain point of view, the Chinese government knows that they'll get a lot of kowtowing... not just the 100 % they want though. |
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DWill
Freshman
Joined: 31 Jan 2008
Posts: 243
Gender:
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| Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 8:17 am Post subject:
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| Ophelia wrote: |
Then, about the West not going to kowtow... It depends who one means.
People and human rights' organizations will protest, but the business world and the governments are great friends of the Chinese who are such important trade partners. So, from a certain point of view, the Chinese government knows that they'll get a lot of kowtowing... not just the 100 % they want though. |
It's fitting that "kowtow" is derived from a Chinese language. I suppose, on the fairness side, that the U.S. has expected to be kowtowed to for its economic and military power, so why not us? say the Chinese.
We have been funding an entire war through credit, with the Chinese being the deep-pockets country we've gone to most often. They're there for us.
DWill |
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Ophelia
Beyond Awesome
Fiction Moderator
Book Discussion Leader
Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1070
Gender:
Location: France
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| Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 4:25 pm Post subject:
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DWill wrote:
| Quote: |
| We have been funding an entire war through credit, with the Chinese being the deep-pockets country we've gone to most often. They're there for us. |
Yes, the financing is Chinese to a great extent and isn't that a crazy situation?
Nobody finances somebody else's war out of generosity. There are no rational reasons why the Chinese might want to use this power, but if they decided to sell all those bonds suddenly it would cause havoc.
This is how you lose power-- as European old-timers from World War I will tell you. Borrow from a rising power (in our case, the US), and lose your position of preeminence and prestige. |
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