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schadenfreude

On October 27, 2005, two young men of foreign background were electrocuted in the power substation of a Paris suburb. For the next two to three weeks, cities throughout France were swept by the familiar plague of race riots. Hordes of dark-skinned young men destroyed their neighbors’ property, lit fires, and battled en masse with mostly light-skinned members of the police forces. From Los Angeles to Detroit to Bristol to Jerusalem, older adults watching the news could not help but remember when these scenes took place in their own cities - when it was their shops that were looted, their cars set aflame, their hopes of social unity torn apart.

On September 30, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a set of 12 controversial cartoons commenting on Islam and the uneasy relationship that exists between Muslims and Christians in Western Europe. For the next several months, a pattern emerged of further publication of these cartoons by newspapers in other cities followed by often violent protests. The difficulties inherent in the merging of the cultures of Muslim East and Christian West were once again thrown into sharp relief.

Obviously, I found both of these situations deeply troubling. I was saddened to learn of the apparently static, oppressive distinctions among races and classes in France just as I was to see the violence, the murder, the rape that must always follow a breakdown in social order and the rule of law. In the case of the Danish cartoons, I was as depressed as ever to see how little mutual understanding exists between the Muslim and Western worlds.

But throughout it all there lurked within my heart a shameful joy. I was happy because although these themes of socio-economic disparity and ‘North-South’ conflict were no less painful than they had ever been, for a change it wasn’t the United States that was their focal point.

That this should so often be the case is perfectly natural. We are indisputably the most powerful economic, political, military, and social force in the world. We are also free, democratic, and largely Christian. Therefore, as Muslim/Arab nations begin their movement from the third to second world, as they become ensnared in the inescapable net of ‘globalization,’ their conflict with Western economic dynamics and Western social values will for the most part be defined as a conflict with the United States.

America’s world dominance also means that our domestic situation is frequently placed on display. When our cities were swept by race riots in the 60s, the world looked on and solemnly shook its head. When the media coverage of Hurricane Katrina revealed the fact that there were a great number of extremely impoverished black people living in New Orleans, commentators across the world clicked their tongues and wondered at how a country so rich could have citizens so poor.

But the fact is that none of these problems exist solely within or as a result of America or her policies. Poverty exists side-by-side with affluence in every country in the world, and in every country the gap between them often falls along racial and cultural lines. By the same token, the conflicts that have increasingly arisen from contact between America and ‘the Arab world’ are merely one example of the difficulties that will inevitably come about as first- and third-world nations are forced closer together through the dynamic of globalization.

This is why I have been distressed these last few years to hear and read opinion pieces from so many Europeans (as well as certain Americans) which seek to make America the scapegoat for these truly global problems. Too often have I heard it suggested that were it not for America and her greed, were it not for George Bush and his intolerant ignorance, problems of economic disparity, Muslim anger, global-warming, or whatever else would simply not be an issue.

This is frightening to me because when people distance themselves from problems, they also distance themselves from solutions. If what is wrong is merely the fault of America, then it must be up to America to put it right. But the oppressive violence suffered by the poor in France cannot be alleviated by the United States, and the difficulty that Western European nations face in creating free, just, multi-ethnic societies will not be solved by putting George Bush out of office.

So while I would obviously never welcome rioting or violent, anti-free-speech protests, I dare to suggest that I have seen a silver lining around these miseries. For perhaps now the cynical, critical eye so long focused on America will turn to gaze upon Europe itself. Perhaps the immediacy of the problem will force a shift in dialogue from causes to solutions. Perhaps more people will come to recognize that we are all facing the same crises, that we will rise above them together or be ground under together, and maybe a sense of common struggle can be brought to an all too fractious world.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 26th, 2006 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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