Reflections on Transforming Cultures

“New forms of communication enable people to overcome geographical boundaries which once might have prevented contact; and they create access to a range of social and political experiences which the individual or group may never have had an opportunity to engage with directly.”

One of the biggest issues facing society as a whole is that we are constantly charting “new waters.” Every day the world “grows smaller.” People and places that were never accessible by us are now becoming accessible, and our culture is one which seeks to expand and assimilate. Hence, when a new tribe is discovered in the Amazon or in Pacific Ocean, people desire to either a) globalize them with technology and “sophistication” or b) preserve them, so that wealthy adventurers have a “petting zoo” to visit when they want to “go native.”

“International law is a law between states only and exclusively.”

Another major obstacle in globalization is the growing independence of ideologies from governments and secular structures. In the Untied States, we have Pat Robertson wanting to assassinate Hugo Chavez, and he goes unpunished for saying this on national television. A much greater threat is that of terrorism, most of which is guided by fundamentalist Muslims. This is an ideology that has already begun the next world war, but it is not as simple as taking out Hitler in order to take out Germany or dropping a bomb on Japan to make them stop. This enemy lives everywhere, and they will do anything to get what they want done.

“We live in overlapping communities of fate, where the trajectories of each and every country are more tightly intertwined than ever before.”

It is no longer the case that we in the Untied States can live isolated from the rest of the world. We learned this in World War 2 when we tried to stay out of the war that was rocking Europe, Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific. What happens in China, Israel, Venezuela etc. affects us. If not directly, indirectly through the modern monster of globalized media.

“To refer to the world as a complex, contested, interconnected order is to acknowledge the messy appearances which define global politics at the turn of the new century. “

Have politics ever been messier? I read an article recently that included a comparison between George W. Bush and John F. Kennedy, and the comparison was difficult, if not impossible, to make. The stresses on the president today far outnumber and outweigh those of JFK or any president before that. In a given week, Bush has to deal with natural disasters, gas prices, Iran, North Korea, China, Iraq, CIA leaks, terrorism, Hugo Chavez, Osama B. Laden, the “religious right,” which is probably the scariest of them all, etc.

“While the concept of sovereignty has by no means been rendered redundant, state sovereignty today jostles for recognition alongside novel forms of political power and sites authority. “

Democracy is a great idea and usually works well, but as long as there are humans on the earth, true democracy and respect for all living things will not be known. In a class on the history of Latin American politics, I was astonished at the terrible, messy history that many, if not all, of those countries have had to endure. With hope on the horizon, another dictator and military leader rears their ugly head.

“Since 1914, humankind has lived and thought in terms of world war, even when the guns were silent and the bombs were not exploding.”

It is amazing to think about how key World War One was in globalization. The first global conflict. Millions of casualties. Entire countries decimated. After 1914, war became a much more important and rapidly developing science.

“The industrialization of war combined with huge and increasingly well organized and disciplined armed forces, facilitated the most extensive phase of western imperialism since the initial voyages of discovery.”

Talk about a sharp learning curve?!?! It’s amazing how effective rapid fire guns are against spears and bow & arrows. Military technology in the hands of humans is a recipe for imperialism which leads to invasion which leads to destruction and oppression.

“Such developments represent a significant transnationalization of the western defense industrial base, a process which is being driven by a commercial logic, as opposed to primarily domestic or nation a security requirements.”

This is the scariest part of globalization for me. Those who build weapons and sell them are no longer bound by nationalistic pride or patriotism to ensure that dangerous technology does not fall into the evil hands. Instead they are governed by the “almighty dollar.” People do not build weapons to help their country any more, but they build them to make money. Everyone knows it is only a matter of time until a nuclear weapon is sold into the wrong hands. Well, actually, we all know that has probably already happened; we just have to wait and see what they do with it.

“One of the earliest recorded arms control initiatives is the decision of the Lateran Council in 1139 to prohibit the use of crossbows between Christian armies.”

This is so wrong on many levels. The fact that they dealt with what weapons were used instead of why to Christian armies were fighting is sad. “Let’s not kill each other with crossbows. That’s not nearly as sporting as using a sword or spear or morning star!”

“We live in a post-military society, and the structural balance between welfare and warfare has shifted decisively towards the former over the latter.”

With the Iraq War, it has been interesting to see this one played out. However, I fear that most Americans who focus on welfare are ignorant to the fact that the rest of the world focuses on warfare. Oh yeah, and they also hate us. So as we criticize and try to subvert the militaristic focus of our government and economy, those who are bent on destroying us sneak through the “doors” that we leave cracked open on our borders, and they plot and prepare for our demise while we bicker amongst each other. Am I fed up with war protesters and polarized politics? Absolutely. Should we have gone to war? Maybe not. But as long as no one is willing to trust the other side or even agree with them, than our government will not be able to do the things that need to be done—like protect our country.