Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Way Things Are

The Way Things Once Were:

1. World's Tallest Building--in the U.S.
2. World's Richest Person--in the U.S.
3. World's Largest Publicly Traded Corporation--in the U.S.
4. World's Biggest Airplane--built in the U.S.
5. World's Largest Factories--in the U.S.
6. World's Biggest Ferris Wheel--in the U.S.
7. World's #1 Casino--in the U.S.
8. World's Biggest Gambling Revenue--the U.S.
9. World's Biggest Movie Industry--Hollywood in the U.S.
10. World's Biggest Mall--in the U.S.

The Way Things Are Now:

1. World's Tallest Building--Taipei and soon Dubai
2. World's Richest Person--Mexican
3. World's Largest Publicly Traded Corporation--Chinese
4. World's Biggest Airplane--built in Russia/Ukraine
5. World's Largest Factories--China
6. World's Biggest Ferris Wheel--Singapore
7. World's #1 Casino--Macau
8. World's Biggest Gambling Revenue--Macau
9. World's Biggest Movie Industry--Bollywood in India
10. World's Biggest Mall--Beijing

This according to Fareed Zakaria in his newest book, The Post American World, published by W. W. Norton and Co., New York (see pp. 2-3). If you don't recognize the name, Zakaria has been editor of Newsweek International and a news analyst for ABC.

He issues a warning--that "just as the world is opening up, America is closing down" (48). He postulates that future historians might say that the US globalized the world in the 21st century, but "along the way . . . it forgot to globalize itself" (214). He insists the real test for the US is a political test--can it stop cowering in fear and move toward the kind of engagement and openness that is its greatest strength?

The jury is still out on this one.

All I can tell you is that most Americans I know eat Chinese food with a fork.

Oh, such a small thing, you say.

Okay, why don't the Chinese eat a hamburger with chopsticks?

We're in trouble.

Read the book.

3 comments:

JamesinBerlin said...

You're right. The US is becoming more and more isolationistic. I think some of that is rising up out of fear...that we aren't no. 1 anymore but we'd prefer to pretend we still are. The thing I was really amazed about several years ago was that some mission agency leaders were also isolationists. They believed they needed to save the world but they didn't want to encounter the world on its terms. I hope your outfit will never become that way.
Jim in Berlin

wendy said...

It's just that when I eat with chopsticks, my bite ends up flying in the air and landing in the eye of the sushi chef. Seriously. This happened to me (and the sushi and the chef) just last week.

Also, I picked up this book on Sunday at the Barnes & Noble in Rome, GA. I'll read it, take eating lessons, and get back to you about this one. But it seems to me that Zakaria is on to something. Certainly, Americans (especially those that identify as Christian) are the least open to The Other than any other group I can think of. Mr. Berlin over there is right about something--we're building our reality on a platform of fear and bad media.

Sigh. -w+

Tim Dahl said...

Hey now, some of us know how to use chopsticks... ;)

But, you're right. I can't think of anything that we can add productively to the world at this moment. There is a post at glocal.net that got me to thinking along these lines. Right now, I think mostly we just need to sit at the feet of the 3rd world church, and just learn.

Thanks for leading us Rob...

Tim Dahl