An American Opportunity

The Dutch, almost half of whom live below sea-level, are thinking that they would never so neglect their dikes that a predictable storm would inundate one of their major cities. They also know that if such a catastrophe did occur, some individuals might be left behind to die -- no system is perfect -- but that no Dutch government would forget several hundred thousand of its own citizens who lacked the money and the transport to get themselves out of harm's way. Similarly, Indians, Sri Lankans, Malaysians and Indonesians who bore the brunt of the Indian Ocean tsunami last December are thinking that they saw no scenes of violence and social breakdown like those that ravaged New Orleans last week. Even in areas like north-eastern Sri Lanka and Indonesia's Aceh province where there had been years of war between local insurgents and the government, social solidarity was the automatic response to natural disaster. Other countries are simply stunned by the scenes of official incompetence and social collapse in the United States that have been playing on their television screens for the past week. They already knew that the giant had feet of clay: a government that can make such a mess of a minor colonial war can also make a mess of disaster relief. But they are shocked by the fact that almost all the victims belong to the black underclass. That is not George W. Bush's fault (though he has not tried very hard to change the old realities of race in America). He will, however, get the blame for it, and the blame may not be expressed solely in words. The last time that the United States saw the same combination of rising casualties in a futile foreign war and a heightened consciousness among black Americans of just how little of the country's wealth and opportunity come their way, it was 1965-68, and American cities burned. With luck, they will not burn again. But similar situations produce similar patterns, and suddenly the situation in the United States begins to resemble the mid-'60s. The anger of black Americans, the humiliation felt by many Americans of every colour, and the existing unhappiness about the war in Iraq may add up to a lever long enough to move the country. Cindy Sheehan by herself could not have produced a wave of protest strong enough to overcome the Bush administration's huge propaganda machine. Neither would the New Orleans disaster have been enough on its own to reawaken the revolt of the American underclass that has lain dormant since the early 1970s. But the foreign and the domestic disasters together may actually tip the scales. That would make Mr Bush's last three years in office thoroughly miserable, but it isn't really about him. The question is: What would it do for the future of America and of the world? America's reputation has not been so low in the world since the Johnson and Nixon presidencies of 1963-73, but few foreigners really want to see the United States humiliated. What they want is a better America, closer to its own ideals both in its treatment of its own citizens and in its behaviour in the wider world. Just about the same thing that most Americans want, in fact. Lies can be defeated by the truth, and good can come out of evil. The United States has taken the wrong road abroad in trying to establish American hegemony in the world, and it has abandoned many of its own citizens at home. These things can be fixed, but only Americans can fix them. At last, an opportunity has presented itself. http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/september/7/dyer/

Note: http://www.embassymag.c...

Options

An American Opportunity

Contributed By

Topic

Article Rating

Options

Latest Editorials

Your Voice