A World Citizens Response to the State of the Union Address by Obama
As i am may hopefully be going to be resident in the US for a while, for the first time yesterday i decided to listen to the ‘State of the Union’ address by President Obama. There are a number of highlights that come to mind. Emphasis on education and innovation was of great interest and admirable. Reduction in the deficit was, in my view, prudent. And emphasis on the nature of democracy and value placed on participatory politics, very noble. However, one part of the speech made me question the relevance of some aspects of government in this changing world. Obama’s emphasis on competition and American ‘fitness’ in a competing world, with China and India as the competetition, doesnt ring true for me. As a British born Persian, who lived in China for 7 years, speaks Chinese, Persian & English, currently living in Mexico (learning Spanish) and soon to be resident(hopefully) in the US with 1 masters degree(Chinese Business) and another on the way(Software Engineering), i dont think my international background is particularly unique – especially in the melting pot that is the US. So when there is talk of competing nations i feel that there is an old unupdated concept at work which doesnt recognise the interdependance and reliance by these ‘so-called’ competing nations. The actual fact is that, in the case of China, the US and China both are suppliers and customers for one anothers products and services and in fact their reliance on one another is a fundamental nature of the relationship – and growing day by day. Furthermore, as Obama stated on his election, the eleviation of poverty of ALL the human family is in Americas own self-interest, which is really taking place in China.
On that note – when Obama mentioned about he value of teachers – this morning i thought wouldnt it be interesting to have a world citizen class in schools – which taught world history & culture and strengthened our identity as one human family. I end on a Bahai quote to this effect – ‘The Earth is but One country and mankind its citizens’.
February 9, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Hi, I’m Mike Moschella of the Truman Projects intern and I happened to come by your blog post.
I think your criticism of Obama’s use of competition amongst nation states is very valid from a philosophical perspective especially considering the fact that you are literally a citizen of the world. However, your criticism ignores the strange nature of US politics. Obama is attempting to justify policies of spending/investment that the American people have not supported over the past few years.
The reason why Obama is speaking of competition is that he is trying to use a new argument to politically justify his policies. The American people have been very receptive to “competition” based arguments in the past which is why Obama is making the arguments.
February 9, 2011 at 6:16 pm
*I mean to say I am his intern.
February 9, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Hi Marshall
Many thanks for your comment. I understand your point, and i do understand the political motive for the statement. I also read recently that less than 25% of Americans hold a passport, so also get the introspective view.
However, that said, i would also say that from my perception – this view has to be tread with lightly. Take the case of i think it was ‘Joe, the Plumber’ during the election. Joe, might be of Polish or Italian origin. He might or might not see that while he wants to keep his job he also wants his Italian or Polish cousins to have better jobs. In addition, more and more US companies have multinational interests. Consumer and economic growth in India will probably affect the interests of, for example Citibanks investments overseas as well as its diversified corporate structure. So, while i get the viewpoint and the reasons for it – i question the reality it tries to portray as well as the medium/long-term advantages.
All that said however, i might be misunderstanding the concept. What might be meant by this idea of competition, is to see which country can foster a spirit of innovation better and be better educated. Thats probably a healthy competition. Who can invent better/faster space shuttles. Or maybe there isnt really a competition in fact – country A invents a better lightbulb, while country B invents a more energy efficient power source – making everyones life better. Its a probably not a zero sum gain.