How the World Sees American Racism

In researching the post below, I came across a very interesting article from India’s Central Chronicle. This editorial argues for the protection of the rights of untouchables. The writer begins with an explanation of the special rights dalits receive in India’s Constitution under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes sections. The article continues to tell the tale of upper-caste Hindus in Chhatarpur pulling a dalit bridegroom from his wedding horse, an extremely insulting action in Indian culture.
The section that interests me, however, is a short two sentances made as a passing comment. “In America,” the author reports, “President Abraham Lincoln had abolished the slavery rule and later, President Kenedy gave the black people equal rights by passing Civil Rights Act. But, racism still prevails there.”
The author simply states this, not as an argument or thesis, but as an accepted fact. Is this one author simply ignorant? Does most of the world believe that racism prevails in America? I adamantly disagree with the author’s statement, but am infuriated with its factual connotation. America today may have some problems with discrimination, but they are isolated and certainly do not prevail.

Problems for ex-Untouchable Christians in India

In post-independence India, caste is a major controversy. Officially, the caste system and all it entails is illegal. However, the Indian government defines “Scheduled Castes” in specific terms and provides for the reservation of seats in government services, schools, and jobs. This is India’s version of Affirmative Action. The term “Scheduled Castes” is actually a grouping of the lowest castes in the hierarchy, and is more commonly referred to as dalits, a derogatory term for these people. The debate surrounding these affirmative-action-type laws are similar to the debate in the United States. People question whether the creation of diverse institutions is worth the lowering of standards. Others claim that standards are met, and people of disadvantaged birth are given opportunities equal to those born to higher caste members.
There is another side to this debate, however, and one not seen in the United States: religion. Caste is a specifically Hindu system. Many dalits convert to Christianity in an attempt to avoid the persecution which comes with the ‘untouchable’ lower caste. Now, Hindu nationalists are fighting to revoke affirmative action privileges of those dalits who converted. The major Hindu nationalist party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argues that removing the rights of ex-untouchables preserves the purity of the tribal culture from the negative influence of the church. The BJP is supported my millions of Indians nation-wide and has also teamed up with another influential movement, the Sangh Parivar, under the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, another Hindu nationalist group.
In support of this movement, Karia Munda re-released Kartik Oraon’s book Bees Varsh Ki Kaali Raat (A Twenty-Year Black Night), which originally was published in the late 1960s, which condems Christian converts for benefiting from their new religion while their tribes suffered.

Nuclear Myths

Dan Marino in his “Debunking Nuclear Energy Myths” explores the pro-nuclear propaganda which is resurfacing due to a bill filed recently by Congress. This bill proposes to revive the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant project (PNPP), which includes $1 billion of US aid for the Bataan Plant. The first myth is that nuclear energy is clean. While the nuclear reactor itself is clean, the nuclear fuel cycle, which is necessary for the existence of the nuclear reactor, is not. The cycle is “heavily dependent” on fossil fuels and creates unacceptable amounts of toxic, radioactive waste. Also, when compared to conservation methods (such as compact fluorescent bulbs and improving insulation in buildings), nuclear power’s energy efficiency is extremely low. The second myth is that nuclear energy is inefficient. Marino cites Kristin Shrader-Frechette, who claims that a new nuclear power plant in the western United States is generating electricity at 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, yet the US government calculates the generation of electricity from wind plants at just 3.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. The cost of nuclear plants is high; but the government gives huge subsidies which mask the true cost. The third myth is that using nuclear power is necessary to address climate change. Marino argues that building one expensive nuclear plant is wasteful, because this money could be used to research cheaper, cleaner, safer, and renewable energy. The fourth myth is that nuclear energy will not increase weapons proliferation. Any nuclear plant could either be used as a target for violence or a mask for the creation of nuclear warheads. Both the SUS Office of Technology and the International Atomic Energy Agency agree in rebuking this myth. Finally, Marino claims that nuclear energy is not safe. The entire energy production process is extremely vulnerable to mistakes or deliberate attacks which would result in unprecedented harm.
In today's world, many non-west nations are fighting to obtain rights to build nuclear power plants. These environmental and security concerns should be delt with before adding to the number of unsafe stations all over the world. India has an estimated 100-140 nuclear warheads at its disposal along with its 17 nuclear power plants. People now need to consider whether continuing to build large quantities of nuclear power plants is wise.

The Communist Manifesto and Globalization

Do Marx and Engels have a point?

Possibly the most famous discourse against capitalism, "The Manifesto of the Communist Party", written in 1848, warns readers of the power of the bourgeoisie. The Manifesto's thesis is simple: the history of society is a history of class conflict, and the current class conflict is between two distinct groups, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In describing the bourgeoisie, however, Marx and Engels make one of the earliest depictions of globalization. The Manifesto claims that the bourgeoisie "has put an end ot all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations...and has left no other nexus between man and man than naked self interest, than callous 'cash payment'." Marx and Engles continue on to conclude that the bourgeoisie have stopped religion, enthusiasm, and sentimentialism in favor of "egotistical calculation". Is this not globalization? The success of a person or business in the free market depends on their ability to coldly calculate, to put aside religion or morals in order to make a bigger profit. Marx and Engels describes the increasing influence of the bourgeoisie as spreading across the globe in search of new markets for its products. The result of this, they claim, is "universal inter-dependence of nations...National one-sideness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature." Marx and Engels are describing a process that is in full-swing today. Chu Van Cap of the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy argues the same point in "Marx and Engels on Economic Globalization". However, Cap disagrees with Marx and Engels' final conclusion that globalization is an evil bougeois force, as do I.

http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/m/pics/marx.jpg

A Presidential Picture

(caption written by Claire Wernecke)

Carter's like "I actually have something to be proud of since I left the White House"GHW Bush is all "Here's the deal, sonny, back in my day we did things this way..."Clinton's like "ahh, the good old days, this is the very same office where Monica and I...."GW Bush (look at his awkward stance!) is like "I'm still the president for another week! look at me! oh, who am I kidding... can I please leave now?!"and Obama's like "S%#t, I've got a lot to do. Get these idiots out of here so I can get to WORK!"

An interesting tidbit on both indian culture and business practices in David Segal's "My Day as a Bollywood Extra". Be sure to check out the video as well.

Mahbubani's article, "The Case Against The West" is just what the title entails: blatantly anti-western, Mahbubani holds the West accountable for the world's wrongs and always returns to his motif of the "Asian Century". He theorizes that "the West's inability to see that the world has entered a new era", the era of Asian superpowers, results in Western incompetency in leading the world. Mahbubani calls on the G-8 to retire from their prominent positions in the UN in favor of countries such as China and India. He claims "China has responded positively" to Robert Zoellick's 2005 call to become a "responsible stakeholder in the international system". And on top of these ludicrous statements, Mahbubani compares America's violations of UN resolutions to the human rights violations of North Korea and Iran!

If Mahbubani's illogical transitions, obnoxious claims, and inconsistent standards bother you as much as me, check out a blog post on him, titled "Why You Should Ignore Kishore Mahbubani and Cancel Your Newsweek Subscription". This Blog was written in response to another of Mahbubani's similarly-themed articles, "Fixing Uncle Sam's Problems" in which Mahbubani explores what he sees as "Washington's failure to think strategically".

Tony Judt in his article, "What Have We Learned, If Anything?", argues against what he calls the "end of History" theory. Judt explains that the misremembering of the twentieth century has doomed the world, and especially the United States, to repeat historical mistakes. He focuses especially on the uniquely American position of keeping war as a strategical option, which Judt connects directly to the relatively small number of US casualties in conflicts throughout the past hundred years. He concludes his article begging readers to "learn again-- or perhaps for the first time-- how war brutalizes and degrades winners and losers alike and what happens to us when, having heedlessly waged war for no good reason, we are encouraged to inflate and demonize our enemies in order to justify that war's indefinite continuance".

Zakaria's article, "The Rise of the Rest"
Book on India’s rise to economic power, Think India