The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Thursday, June 30, 2005
A Fourth of July Geopolitical Reality Check: Why we are fighting and why we must keep on fighting
I always am glad to see guys like Herb Meyer weigh in on current events, because it is men like Meyer, Thomas P.M. Barnett, and (to a lesser extent) George Friedman of Stratfor who offer us viewpoints of the "big picture" that you will rarely see in the dumbed-down mainstream media. I have just finished Barnett's earth-shaking book "The Pentagon's New Map"--amazingly insightful.
After Bush's speech the other night, and the beyond-ridiculous reaction to it by our disgraceful news media -- and considering the looming threat we face from Iran and Global Islamofascism in general -- I thought it would be particluarly relevant to quote from Barnett's' book, specifically from Chapter 6 "The Global Transaction Strategy", because it truly is difficult to put into words for my multi-national friends what it is and feels like to be an American. I find it somehow important to at least try to explain to them why I feel that our unique experience of freedom and prosperity is so worthy of their own aspirations:
"Americans have long debated whether our good fortune imparts to us special obligations to share this dream with others beyond our shores. [....] I will argue that America has served ably as globalization's ideological wellspring: each and every day we put on display--for all to see--the almost unlimited utility of broadband economic connectivity, freedom of action within minimal rule sets, and the unbridled ambition afforded by the apparent certainty of long-term peace. Thus, the American experience speaks to globalization's advance because we have come closest to perfecting its historical equation: the individual pursuit of happiness within free markets protected from destabilizing strife by the rule of law."
"But the question remains: Does America owe the world anything more than its example? Over the Cold War we stood up to Communism and all the threats to our good life that it represented, and by doing so we successfully encouraged the spread of that good life in the form of a global economy resurrected from the ashes of two world wars, and expanded beyond any previous high-water mark. This effort took several decades [....], but it has culminated in half the world's population being invited to the same good life we have long enjoyed--the same fundamental freedoms, the same sense of security, the same belief in a future full of potential. And yet roughly one-third of humanity--more than two billion souls--remains on the outside, noses pressed to the glass. What more do we owe them?
I belive America owes them nothing more and nothing less than the same basic peace we have long enjoyed. Not a Pax Americana, because we seek not to extend our rule but merely our rules. We claim no power over others on this basis, because to extend these rule sets is to expand the Core's membership and enable globalization's continued advance. It is to issue a standing invitation to all nations currently trapped within the Gap: embrace these rules and join our community. What is so special about the globalization that America has nurtured and protected these seven decades is that it represents the active exportation of the same liberty we have so long enjoyed within these United States--a fundamental connectivity that empowers individual ambition through the provision of choice and thus opportunity. It is our liberty road show, or the promise of freedom made universal. [....]"
"But many forces within the Gap are threatened by the rising connectivity engendered by globalization's creeping advance, because it imperils their ability to control the lives of others. Beleiving humanity's paths to happiness are single, and thus enforceable by all-knowing elites, these forces demand that their particular definition of the good life hold sway no matter how much violence is required, how much freedom is repressed, or how many lives are wasted. And they will constantly dangle before our weary eyes the same deceptively seductive bargain that all dictators offer: Just grant me these for my own and I will trouble you no further. It was all the Taliban in Afghanistan asked. It is all Osama bin Laden asks. It is all the forces of disconnectedness will forever ask. [..and it is all the mullahs in Iran and monsters like Zarqawi are asking...-DT] And to all such pacts America's answer should always be no!"
We should not be in the business of building up firewalls between the Core's good life and the Gap's sorry existence, offering the latter merely our charity as a lifeline. To deny anyone in the Gap access to the same bright future we may presume as our birthright is to engage in the same sort of exclusionary ideology that dictators of all stripes have long employed to enslave their subjects. In the end, our sin of omitting the Gap from a future worth creating will be as reprehensible as any committed by the forces of disconnectedness we now engage in this global war or terrorism. [....]
[....]In this increasingly interconnected world, our vulnerability is not defined by the depth of our connectedness with the outside world, but by the sheer existence of regions that remain off-grid, beyond the pale, and unconnected to our shared fate. For it is only within such disconnectedness that the "logic" of 9/11's destructiveness can be accessed: If I cannot enjoy your good life, then neither will you. To bring these regions online with globalization's expanding rule sets is to engage in the only stragegic transaction worth pursuing in the twenty-first century--offering the Gap freedom in exchange for the Core's security."
It has been a while since words I have read have struck me with such profundity. We truly should be thankful over this Fourth of July weekend that we are fortunate enough to have lived under the most advanced and civilized system ever known to man.
The power we have acquired as a result of our Constitution and the brilliance of our system of governance are almost an afterthought to the way of life itself, but this power is no accident: indeed it the very fruit of the system and the inherent individualistic morality within it. With that said, we nevertheless are the only country in the world which can take the steps necessary to ensure the forces of darkness do not take the rest of our planet back to the dark ages -- and us as well, all because some psychopathic barbaric zealots don't "get it". We cannot sit back and watch this pestilence infect our fellow human beings: we must intervene, with force and perserverence when necessary, to ensure these "walls" are knocked down forever. For only then can the world truly understand what we take for granted everyday: Freedom is everything.
Happy Fourth of July, America. I will be blogging lightly over the next week or so, but I hope you will return to this post and read Barnett's words again and again. I beleive this is the vision of our President and Secretary Rice. Better yet, to get a real version of this "big picture" you can purchase Barnett's book here. A great read: Joe Bob says "Check it out."
After Bush's speech the other night, and the beyond-ridiculous reaction to it by our disgraceful news media -- and considering the looming threat we face from Iran and Global Islamofascism in general -- I thought it would be particluarly relevant to quote from Barnett's' book, specifically from Chapter 6 "The Global Transaction Strategy", because it truly is difficult to put into words for my multi-national friends what it is and feels like to be an American. I find it somehow important to at least try to explain to them why I feel that our unique experience of freedom and prosperity is so worthy of their own aspirations:
"Americans have long debated whether our good fortune imparts to us special obligations to share this dream with others beyond our shores. [....] I will argue that America has served ably as globalization's ideological wellspring: each and every day we put on display--for all to see--the almost unlimited utility of broadband economic connectivity, freedom of action within minimal rule sets, and the unbridled ambition afforded by the apparent certainty of long-term peace. Thus, the American experience speaks to globalization's advance because we have come closest to perfecting its historical equation: the individual pursuit of happiness within free markets protected from destabilizing strife by the rule of law."
"But the question remains: Does America owe the world anything more than its example? Over the Cold War we stood up to Communism and all the threats to our good life that it represented, and by doing so we successfully encouraged the spread of that good life in the form of a global economy resurrected from the ashes of two world wars, and expanded beyond any previous high-water mark. This effort took several decades [....], but it has culminated in half the world's population being invited to the same good life we have long enjoyed--the same fundamental freedoms, the same sense of security, the same belief in a future full of potential. And yet roughly one-third of humanity--more than two billion souls--remains on the outside, noses pressed to the glass. What more do we owe them?
I belive America owes them nothing more and nothing less than the same basic peace we have long enjoyed. Not a Pax Americana, because we seek not to extend our rule but merely our rules. We claim no power over others on this basis, because to extend these rule sets is to expand the Core's membership and enable globalization's continued advance. It is to issue a standing invitation to all nations currently trapped within the Gap: embrace these rules and join our community. What is so special about the globalization that America has nurtured and protected these seven decades is that it represents the active exportation of the same liberty we have so long enjoyed within these United States--a fundamental connectivity that empowers individual ambition through the provision of choice and thus opportunity. It is our liberty road show, or the promise of freedom made universal. [....]"
"But many forces within the Gap are threatened by the rising connectivity engendered by globalization's creeping advance, because it imperils their ability to control the lives of others. Beleiving humanity's paths to happiness are single, and thus enforceable by all-knowing elites, these forces demand that their particular definition of the good life hold sway no matter how much violence is required, how much freedom is repressed, or how many lives are wasted. And they will constantly dangle before our weary eyes the same deceptively seductive bargain that all dictators offer: Just grant me these for my own and I will trouble you no further. It was all the Taliban in Afghanistan asked. It is all Osama bin Laden asks. It is all the forces of disconnectedness will forever ask. [..and it is all the mullahs in Iran and monsters like Zarqawi are asking...-DT] And to all such pacts America's answer should always be no!"
We should not be in the business of building up firewalls between the Core's good life and the Gap's sorry existence, offering the latter merely our charity as a lifeline. To deny anyone in the Gap access to the same bright future we may presume as our birthright is to engage in the same sort of exclusionary ideology that dictators of all stripes have long employed to enslave their subjects. In the end, our sin of omitting the Gap from a future worth creating will be as reprehensible as any committed by the forces of disconnectedness we now engage in this global war or terrorism. [....]
[....]In this increasingly interconnected world, our vulnerability is not defined by the depth of our connectedness with the outside world, but by the sheer existence of regions that remain off-grid, beyond the pale, and unconnected to our shared fate. For it is only within such disconnectedness that the "logic" of 9/11's destructiveness can be accessed: If I cannot enjoy your good life, then neither will you. To bring these regions online with globalization's expanding rule sets is to engage in the only stragegic transaction worth pursuing in the twenty-first century--offering the Gap freedom in exchange for the Core's security."
It has been a while since words I have read have struck me with such profundity. We truly should be thankful over this Fourth of July weekend that we are fortunate enough to have lived under the most advanced and civilized system ever known to man.
The power we have acquired as a result of our Constitution and the brilliance of our system of governance are almost an afterthought to the way of life itself, but this power is no accident: indeed it the very fruit of the system and the inherent individualistic morality within it. With that said, we nevertheless are the only country in the world which can take the steps necessary to ensure the forces of darkness do not take the rest of our planet back to the dark ages -- and us as well, all because some psychopathic barbaric zealots don't "get it". We cannot sit back and watch this pestilence infect our fellow human beings: we must intervene, with force and perserverence when necessary, to ensure these "walls" are knocked down forever. For only then can the world truly understand what we take for granted everyday: Freedom is everything.
Happy Fourth of July, America. I will be blogging lightly over the next week or so, but I hope you will return to this post and read Barnett's words again and again. I beleive this is the vision of our President and Secretary Rice. Better yet, to get a real version of this "big picture" you can purchase Barnett's book here. A great read: Joe Bob says "Check it out."
