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Slum children seek right to
education NEW DELHI: In
the presence of PM Vajpayee slum children asked what sin
they they had committed not to get education. This was
depicted in a play enacted by them, called 'Akhir Kyon',
at the PM's residence on Saturday.
21 killed in road mishap near
Bhiwani BHIWANI:
Twenty-one people, including four employees of Haryana's
electricity department, were killed in a head on
collision between two trucks on Saturday near Badhra,
about 45 kms from here.
Charas worth Rs 1 crore
seized PATNA: Contraband
charas worth Rs 1 crore in the international market was
seized and one person arrested by customs sleuths from a
jeep in Bihar's east Champaran district.
Four AIDS cases in
Sikkim GANGTOK: Sikkim
has reported four AIDS cases to the National Aids
Control Organisation till November 30 last and has
formulated a nine-pronged strategy to counter the
disease.
French naval ship to visit
Kochi KOCHI: A French
naval ship 'commandant Ducuing' with a complement of 97
personnel, including seven officers, will call at Kochi
on January 12.
TNT EXTRA!
Terror struck India on
December 13 when five gunmen entered the
Parliament complex. See exclusive infographics,
pictures and shootout updates. Read The
Extra!
COLUMN
The six Nobel Prizes for 2001 had
an unusual triple Indian connection, says
Jairam Ramesh. Read The
Opinion
Enduring Blames: Uncle
Sam & The Goddess of Big Tirades
California, January 07,
21:55 (2002)
The strident anti-US positions taken by
Arundhati Roy and others of her ilk in the wake of the
September 11 attacks betray a great ignorance of what
the US stands for -- and the terrorists stand against.
Her eloquence and passion notwithstanding, Ms Roy's
essays make sweeping judgements that do not stand up to
critical scrutiny.
(This is the first of a
five-part series on anti-US critics by two readers of
TheNewspaperToday. We will continue showcase
thought-provoking work by our readers -- Executive
Editor)
A number of articles have appeared in the
international press over the years criticising the
United States. After September 11, 2001, a few articles
in particular authored by Arundhati Roy, castigating the
United States, appeared in some media outlets (MSNBC.com;
The
Guardian; Outlook
India). Fair criticism
of an individual or nation is by no means disallowed
(except in certain countries) but it is hard to ignore
the flawed and one-sided nature of Ms Arundhati Roy's
"analysis" if one may call it that. Owing to the
widespread lack of critical thinking in routine
US-bashing, it is only appropriate that some balance be
provided to the virulent monologues consistently
directed at the US. Indeed, it is interesting that
critics of the US -- who repeatedly implore the US to be
just and fair -- are themselves unaware of the
concomitant need for them to be just and fair in their
tirade against the US. A lot more good can be achieved
by balance, than by ignoring one side of the coin.
One of the main reasons for the sustained
criticism of the US over the years has been the
statements made by the US Government that it supports
peace and democracy worldwide, while providing limited
evidence to support that view outside its own borders.
Indeed, the evidence for the US having armed or
militarily supported non-democratic regimes is
substantial. Hence, at the minimum, it would be
desirable for the US Government to not portray itself in
a light that is inconsistent with its actions. On a
different level, one that is quite understandable, the
US should state that its actions are driven by a desire
to preserve its self-interests and not with hallowed
goals of peace or democracy, since all nations do (and
must) act in their self-interest.
A second issue that appears to be driving some of
the criticism (based on much of what we have read over
the years) is the expectation that many world citizens
have of the US considering its position as a superpower
which has provided democracy and peace within its
borders for a long time now. In other words, people
expect a democratic and economic superpower to show more
responsibility, benevolence and thought in its actions
worldwide, for its position is potentially one of high
esteem.
This is no different, for instance, than the case
of higher standards imposed by many American citizens on
the President of the United States. While this is a
debatable subject, it certainly could very well be a
reason for many criticisms against the US.
The US has never been a perfect country, nor will
it ever be -- an observation that would fairly describe
any country in the world. There are many lessons to be
learnt (especially about the monsters the US may have
helped create), relationships to be mended, misplaced
priorities to be righted, and broken promises to be
reinstated. More than ever before in its history, the US
needs to be less and less isolationist, not more and
more unilateral.
The latter should be even more clear in an era of
globalisation, where US businesses have realised the
need for global alliances to survive. Most importantly,
the US needs to get away from its Cold War fears and
align itself with true democratic governments. The
current situation in the world today presents an
opportunity for the United States to show its true
caliber and emerge stronger and more concerned about
peace and democracy worldwide.
That
said, many US critics are now so comfortably indulgent
that it would seem to appear that their people or
countries, or the countries the US has apparently harmed
irreparably, are the pinnacles of virtue! Ms Roy, in one
essay lauds American achievements in art, music, and
literature, but states in another that "all the beauty
of the world -- literature, music, art -- lies between
these two fundamentalist poles (the US and the
Taliban)". In those remarks, and others, the US is
unambiguously equated with the Taliban and other
"terrorist states".
Consequently, in the following series we examine
the fallacies of many of the arguments presented against
the United States with the objective of restoring the
balance required in any critique. In this first part (of
the series) we address criticisms on the lack of
jurisprudence and introspection displayed by the US in
its recent attack on Afghanistan.
Text
of Musharraf's Address to the Nation President Musharraf in his
address to the nation reaffirmed to rid the
society of terrorism and strived to project Islam
in its true perspective.
