A friend of mine, one that I know from hanging out at this incredibly cool coffee house called Roosters (NO! not Roasters... if you are in the Amarillo area and looking for a good place to have a great cup o joe and some semi-quiet, I highly recommend you go spend some time with Jacob and the gang on 34th and Bell), handed me a book called Flyboys, by James Bradley. There are people who recommend books to me all the time, but I am prone to take it a little more seriously when they actually follow up by handing me a copy. Many of you (haha - of the millions that are certain to peruse the brilliance herein exhibited) may have heard of this book. It's the incredible story of nine American airmen that were shot down near Iwo Jima during WWII. But it also is much more than that. The beginning chapters give some history of the relationship between the US and Japan. There are also several mentions of some of the imperialism that went on in the late stages of the 1800's, land grabs by the likes of France, Russia, England, and, of course, the US. Even Japan, after experiencing the brutish diplomacy of US naval officer Commodore Matthew Perry, tried its hand at the might is right style of international relations. I found highly interesting the lyrics to a Japanese children's song that gained popularity in the 1890's:
"There is a Law of Nations
It is true.
But when the moment comes, remember
The Strong Eat up the Weak."
Maybe it rhymes in Japanese. I actually have searched far and wide to find songs like these to teach my kids. In all seriousness, reading these lyrics put me on an interesting thought path. Doesn't it seem that this song could have been sung in ancient Greece? Would it be much of a stretch to imagine the likes of Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, or even Napolean humming along to this as they made their conquests? How about Longshanks and William Wallace singing it aloud as they sacked one another's cities? Might it have played incessantly in the mind of Xerxes before the Battle of Thermopylae, or in the mind of Hitler as the Blitzkrieg blew through Poland in a matter of a couple of days? Is this the song that resonates in the hearts of Obama and McCain as the election nears? Only kidding about that one...
But seriously, has civilization changed much in the past 6000 years? The popular saying (at least by high school history teachers) is that those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat it. Has mankind learned much? Are we any more civilized in 2008 than at any other time in history? Have we advanced intellectually and emotionally enough to value other cultures as equals of our own? Have we matured as humans to the extent that we can see beyond "might is right"? Or do our tiny lives make up nations that still only respect the guy with the biggest stick?
Curiously, it seems that we haven't evolved much. It seems that we are still incredibly weak to the lure of power and wealth. It seems, too, that nations still wield power with all the accuracy and wisdom of a sledgehammer. I have asked many questions, many of which have no easy answers, if any answers at all. I don't write this as a defense or endictment of the US or any other country. I write as a man who wonders about where we are going, about what kind of civilization my kids will live in and pass on to their kids. I write as one who wonders if the way of life we know in 2008 can (or should) sustain itself indefinitely.
Thanks for reading...
3 comments:
i like this one, i will get back to you on a thought out comment. I need to think about it.
I don't think as whole cultures that we have gotten over the lure of might, power, and wealth. Its funny, because outside the U.S. we are the big bad wolf and the savior. WTF? I am sure everyone that greece and rome conquered felt the same way. In generalizations I do not think that most cultures appreciate one another for the things they bring to the table. Most cultures find something they like and exploit it for profit whatever the profit may be to them. That stuff has been on going on for a long damn time! I think we have progressed to appreciate the things we see in other cultures, but not in leaps and bounds. I do hope that we can continue to grow towards a true appreciation of each other. Surely there is more to this universe than might is right.
RightO, Shook. I read somewhere about the duality of opinion on some of Rome's conquests. Some of the Roman emporers actually believed they were bringing "light" to people by placing them under Roman rule. Others just has incredible bloodlust. It's kind of amazing, really.
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