Posted on: Sunday, September 12, 2004
THE RISING EAST
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By Richard Halloran
Three years after the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, two seemingly contradictory currents run through America, currents that will affect U.S. relations with every nation in Asia.
The first is a mingling of nationalism and patriotism, which are closely related but are not the same thing.
This stream is perhaps best illuminated by the widely repeated phrase "You are either with us or with the terrorists," sometimes expressed as "you are either with us or against us."
The second current is a torrent of divisiveness accompanied by a decline in civility. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., underlined this discord, the worst since the turbulent Vietnam era, with an eloquent plea when he addressed the Republican National Convention: "We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always." These two currents were not generated by this year's presidential election campaign, but that contest, which has turned into a mudslinging match, has accentuated them.
The currents will surely surge through the debates in Congress, which reconvened last week and will be in session until a few weeks before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
Associated Press The record shows that rarely to have been the case.
Rather, the United States has been nationalistic, giving priority to its own national interests and less weight to those of other nations.
Moreover, Americans appear to have become largely immune to criticism from other nations. The first cousin of nationalism, patriotism, or love of country, can be seen in the polls in which Americans express pride in the United States, in flags flying in front of homes, bumper stickers on cars, and a renewed fervor in singing the national anthem.
That zeal has subsided a bit since the emotionally charged days after 9/11, but not by much.
Shortly after 9/11, the Pew Center for the People and the Press in Washington said its surveys showed the terrorist attacks had "once again elevated the importance of nationhood" among Americans.
Samuel P. Huntington, a Harvard scholar who has written extensively about the American search for identity, took that a step further, finding that American nationalism is "devoted to the preservation and enhancement of those qualities that have defined America from its inception." Another scholar, Minxin Pei of the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, has asserted that American nationalism was defined "by a belief in the supremacy of U.S. democratic ideals."
"Americans not only take enormous pride in their values," Pei wrote, "but also regard them as universally applicable."
He cited a poll showing that 79 percent of Americans agreed with the statement: "It's good that American ideas and customs are spreading around the world." McCain was more pointed: "As we've been a good friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good reason to expect their solidarity with us in this struggle" against terror.
In contrast, the unity of America that clicked into place on 9/11 has disappeared into a valley of division. Americans are experiencing a rupture that has been aggravated by bitter accusations and an absence of the willingness to compromise that had long been a mark of American democracy.
This split appears to be rooted in the Vietnam era, when Americans in their 20s clashed with each other over the morality of the war in Southeast Asia.
Today, the issues are different, but the people are the same, now being in their 50s and running the country as political leaders, government officials, military officers, business executives, university professors and news editors. America seems to be divided into three clusters: a large, conservative, religious right wing; an equally large, liberal, secular left wing; and a smaller, bewildered, hapless gaggle of independents.
The rightists and leftists differ sharply, among many other things, over abortion, homosexual marriage, gun control, the death penalty, how to fight the war on terror, and the size and role of government — and none will brook a compromise. Little wonder that Americans can't even agree on whether the country is headed in the right or wrong direction, splitting almost equally on that issue. It was this dissension that McCain addressed in his plea for unity: "We must, whatever our disagreements, stick together in this great challenge of our time."
Honolulu-based Richard Halloran is a former New York Times correspondent in Asia.
For Asians, it will be important to recognize in coming months, no matter who wins the American presidency, that these conflicting currents will influence decisions in U.S. foreign and security policy — and may well make those policies inconsistent. The United States has often been accused of "unilateralism," or acting alone.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, shakes hands with Sept. 11 commission co-chairman Thomas Kean on Capitol Hill Tuesday before a news conference where Kean endorsed a bipartisan plan by McCain and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., center, to make their recommendations on improving homeland security into law.
