A plan...?!
Oct. 18th, 2001 12:20 amSomething that fellow LJer
papoose said in a comment to a previous post of mine reinforced something I've been thinking about for the past few days, and prompted me to try to crystallize my thoughts.
It will take me some time for me to fully develop my thesis, but basically, I think that if "we" wanted to convincingly show the world - in a meaningful way - that we harbor no animosity toward the Muslim world, then "we" would mount a massive campaign for our citizens (and particularly students) to study and learn Islamic languages and culture.
Without going into details, here are two reasons why this is an idea worth considering:
1. People fear the unknown, and fear - combined with ignorance - leads easily to suspicion and hate. Deal with the ignorance, deal with the unknown and you take away the basis for fear(or at least you've taken a large first step).
2. Making a commitment to learn about the other guy's language and culture says a heck of a lot more about your intentions and character, frankly, than does donating an insignificant sum of money to support a relief effort. Charity does have a downside: it eventually breeds resentment.
Some folks might object to such an effort, arguing that it would be viewed as a move against the Muslim world. After all, they might point out, a similar effort was born just over 40 years ago after Sputnik was launched. Everyone, it seems, wanted to learn Russian in the early 60s (my mom was part of that era) so that we could better deal with "the enemy."
While it is true that many of the people of that generation who studied Russian devoted their lives to opposing the Soviet government, I have never met one such person who emerged from the experience with a hatred of the Russian people or Russian culture. Yes, it is true that those who make the effort to understand Islamic language and culture might gravitate toward efforts to oppose violent, extremist factions that purport to represent Islam. Such opposition would, it seems to me, be a good thing for all involved, no?
In short, if you study and learn about something that is not, in itself, evil, then you cannot end up hating it.
Returning to the plus side of such a plan, a widespread understanding of Islam can only enrich our world view (this has traditionally been the reason for acquiring any foreign language). Also, if an environment is conducive to individual interactions between peoples, the influence and authority of governments to dictate what people think is reduced (this is exactly what happened in the former Soviet Union, which was not felled by nuclear weapons, but ultimately, by floppy disks, e-mail, and fax machines).
Who would teach? Heck, there are something like 7 million Muslims in the United States. Drawing upon this population for teachers would act as a kind of "check" to assure both ourselves and the world that the effort wasn't some thinly disguised "Hate Islam" campaign designed to brainwash a generation of students.
Also about 40 years ago, John Kennedy made a speech at Rice University here in Houston. Anyone who watches the NASA channel has heard it countless numbers of times. In his remarks, Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the moon. . . Not because it is easy, but because it is hard. . . . Because there is new knowledge to be gained."
What I propose is also hard. It might not appeal to generations brought up on MTV and situation comedies. Frankly, I think it would require a complete reassessment and, likely, reorganization of our educational system, which would have to be done instantly (at least, when measured in educrat time units). But beyond gaining new knowledge, I think the effort might also win the peace.
I'm still working on this concept... I think there's a huge win-win here, for people who share common good faith.
What holes do you see?
Cheers...
P.S. If you break out your touchy-feely-feelgood meter, you'll find that it should read zero when passed over the above text.
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It will take me some time for me to fully develop my thesis, but basically, I think that if "we" wanted to convincingly show the world - in a meaningful way - that we harbor no animosity toward the Muslim world, then "we" would mount a massive campaign for our citizens (and particularly students) to study and learn Islamic languages and culture.
Without going into details, here are two reasons why this is an idea worth considering:
1. People fear the unknown, and fear - combined with ignorance - leads easily to suspicion and hate. Deal with the ignorance, deal with the unknown and you take away the basis for fear(or at least you've taken a large first step).
2. Making a commitment to learn about the other guy's language and culture says a heck of a lot more about your intentions and character, frankly, than does donating an insignificant sum of money to support a relief effort. Charity does have a downside: it eventually breeds resentment.
Some folks might object to such an effort, arguing that it would be viewed as a move against the Muslim world. After all, they might point out, a similar effort was born just over 40 years ago after Sputnik was launched. Everyone, it seems, wanted to learn Russian in the early 60s (my mom was part of that era) so that we could better deal with "the enemy."
While it is true that many of the people of that generation who studied Russian devoted their lives to opposing the Soviet government, I have never met one such person who emerged from the experience with a hatred of the Russian people or Russian culture. Yes, it is true that those who make the effort to understand Islamic language and culture might gravitate toward efforts to oppose violent, extremist factions that purport to represent Islam. Such opposition would, it seems to me, be a good thing for all involved, no?
In short, if you study and learn about something that is not, in itself, evil, then you cannot end up hating it.
Returning to the plus side of such a plan, a widespread understanding of Islam can only enrich our world view (this has traditionally been the reason for acquiring any foreign language). Also, if an environment is conducive to individual interactions between peoples, the influence and authority of governments to dictate what people think is reduced (this is exactly what happened in the former Soviet Union, which was not felled by nuclear weapons, but ultimately, by floppy disks, e-mail, and fax machines).
Who would teach? Heck, there are something like 7 million Muslims in the United States. Drawing upon this population for teachers would act as a kind of "check" to assure both ourselves and the world that the effort wasn't some thinly disguised "Hate Islam" campaign designed to brainwash a generation of students.
Also about 40 years ago, John Kennedy made a speech at Rice University here in Houston. Anyone who watches the NASA channel has heard it countless numbers of times. In his remarks, Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the moon. . . Not because it is easy, but because it is hard. . . . Because there is new knowledge to be gained."
What I propose is also hard. It might not appeal to generations brought up on MTV and situation comedies. Frankly, I think it would require a complete reassessment and, likely, reorganization of our educational system, which would have to be done instantly (at least, when measured in educrat time units). But beyond gaining new knowledge, I think the effort might also win the peace.
I'm still working on this concept... I think there's a huge win-win here, for people who share common good faith.
What holes do you see?
Cheers...
P.S. If you break out your touchy-feely-feelgood meter, you'll find that it should read zero when passed over the above text.