Dave Alt observes:

Chinese know us but do we know them?

Apparently not. Good essay this.

This from Tim:

One of the amazing things about America is how utterly, monumentally ignorant so many of us are towards other countries, particularly towards our enemies. During the Cold War few people understood the Soviets, and we always had these peacenik types crying about how maligned the Soviets were. We've had that with the so-called "war on terror" too, with so many people not having a clue as to how Islam impacts the whole thing and what Islam teaches. And now we have this with China. Knowledge is power. America is powerless over so many world events because America refuses to acquire knowledge. Too many want to believe that the Chinese, or the Muslims, are just Americans with funny accents. They cannot believe there are any real differences between us and them. They cannot understand that, for instance, it is an honor for your child to die in battle against the infidel (in Muslim culture) or that China really does see itself as the rightful ruler of this world - the "Middle Kingdom" that was and will be again. We see them as just another country trying to make a buck and do the best for their people. We ignore the Marxism which so suited the oriental despotism that was traditional in China. We cannot understand the organizational structure of a country steeped originally in Confucian ideals of filial piety and top-down structural organization. We can't understand the reverence for an emperor who is now instead the ruling Communist party. We keep thinking these are an American bowling team and not a bunch of psychopathic overlords seeking hegemony.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:55 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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