At 07:31 AM 6/22/01 -0000 Ritu Ko wrote:
>�Well, let's clarify this further by going back to the original proposition:
>Kristin Ruhle suggested that: "(the conservative viewpoint
>tends to take *pride* in emphasizing so called American values) when
>AMerica has only five percent of the world's billions (Does that mean 95
>percent of the planet is, well, Un-AMerican? Not necessarily undeomcratic,
>but UN-AMERICAN! horrors!)"
>
>I replied that we have no idea whether or not the Chinese share American
>values, as their opinions are inscrutable.�
>
>I am afraid the inclusion of Kristin�s statement didn�t really clarify your
>comment. You see, whether or not the Chinese are share American values [and
>we really ought to enumerate what exactly these are], they�d still be
>Un-American. And that was Kristin�s point, if I am not mistaken.
I don't get it. Based on the above context if the Chinese citizens
shared American values, they would *not* seem to fit the definition of
"Un-American" used in the above context, where "Un-American" is defined as
not sharing American values.
>�Do you have any idea how incredibly demeaning these questions are?�
>
>I don�t know about Christopher, but I certainly don�t have any idea. I
>thought that these questions were a reasonable attempt to understand a
>baffling statement.
Given that I have the broadest definition of human life of almost anyone on
this list, and that I take my definitions of human life far more seriously
than almost anyone on this list, it should have been obvious.
Oh wait, you haven't been here long enough for that. At least one person
who was apparently confused, has, however, which is disturbing......
>No, but I don�t know what the approval rating of Vajpayee is either. Opinion
>polls are a regular feature of western political dynamics but they have just
>started here in India and we tend to concentrate their use on cricket and
>societal issues. :o)
The point, however, is that someone could find out if they really wanted to
. You certainly could not in China.
>Maybe that had something to do with cultural differences � maybe you did not
>know the right questions to ask, maybe they thought that you would be
>unequipped to understand their answer, maybe you just met those few who were
>neither interested in political theories and had never thought much about
>the matter [such people do exist, you know :o)]. I have met a few citizens
>of the PRC who are quite willing to discuss politics and, [Surprise!] their
>views are nothing I haven�t heard or read before.
Maybe you were lucky enough to get them in a situation where they were sure
they were not being observed. Then again, I am guessing that you did not
ask them if they would prefer democracy, or if they thought that their
government was evil.
>Is there EVER any way of knowing if anybody�s opinion on anything is genuine
>or coerced? [Of course, we will assume that no weapon is visible and the
>person in question doesn�t look like he/she has been beaten recently.]
>:o)
O.k., perhaps not. But in different cases there are very different
probabilities of coercion occurring. Ask an American, and odds are small
that there is coercion. Ask a citizen of the PRC, and that probability is
much higher.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
