What if the British Empire ran the whole world? What alternatives then would the American colonists seeking religious freedom, better opportunities, economic emancipation, etc., have had?
I might take this further and argue that cultural diversity is valuable and we should value it just as we do endangered species. Globalization and empire are forces that favor monoculture, the loss of alternatives in the grand human experiment with civilization. Peter Hollings -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 5:25 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] US EMpire Better than Alternative - Huh? Brian McKenna wrote: > In my classes these days I'm increasingly presented with an argument in > support of all US aggression that seems compelling for many . It goes like > this. > "All nations want protection and all are inherently for power. If they can become an empire they will. IF THE US DOES NOT STEP INTO THE VOID OF EMPIRE, SOMEONE ELSE -LIKE CHINA OR RUSSIA WILL - THEREFORE WE MUST SUPPORT US EMPIRE BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE IS WORSE." ... > For you teachers out there, how do you pedagogically deal with this in the > classroom? Any thoughts? that's a new one! one possible response: power corrupts. Look at what happened to the Roman Republic when it became an Empire. It may have started out pretty good, but it became totally corrupt and disgusting. That may not be totally accurate history-wise, but it may have some resonance. And the Bushies' effort to hold onto their empire is linked to a lot of corruption. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
