American Exceptionalism & Neo-Neocons: Fukuyama's Assessment

In After the Neocons: America at the Crossroads, author Francis Fukuyama, an ex-Neocon, details his reasons for quitting the movement of neo-cons because it has been baptised in the image of policies of Bush's administration - a derivative operation with which he can no longer associate himself.

My concern today is with a chapter on American Exceptionalism in post-Iraq scenario. He not only shows how Amerika came to this point, but also traces roots to resentfulness of world - European & Asian (needless to highlight Islamic world here) - towards this self-perceived wise course of action. Looking at how America came to believe in the illusion that it was wise enough to exercise unilateral action without any external check or permissions (as to where to bomb and where to not, as per Powell), smacks of haughtiness, because once they came to know that Russia won't intercept to stop them, they accepted the license to bully anyone they wanted.

Briefly, as per FF, there are two main reasons that can explain American exceptionalism and associated resentfulness and new wave of anti-Amerikanism in both Muslims world and Europe:

1. Winning cold war and victorious ventures in Middle East

2. Imposing dogmatic policies of American economic liberalization programs that severely backfired and destroyed economies in many places

3. Unilateral action against Iraq in 2004

4. Poor communication in conveying following dictum: Either you're with us or against us. This wasn't against European audience, "independent nations." Rather. Against "irresponsible," terrorist-harboring states like Pakistan and Yemen.

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In any case, haughtiness of Amerikan regime reached it climax in Iraq war. Pakistan had nothing to gain except losses from following Amerikan economic advice (IMF loans, structural adjustments, etc.) and going into war of terror. I do need to study much more about those critical days of 2001 to arrive at a more or less scholarly judgement.

Noam Chomski on Globalization

514 years ago a tragedy befell humanity, when human discovered an unpolluted, uninhabited, continent, a vast "virgin" land awaiting to become the greatest nation on earth with a mission to civilize the rest. As you'd have probably guessed, it was America. First it was Europe that had the baton of world's leadership, and now new Europeans claim a virgin territory, although it required little nation-cleansing of Red Indians "for their own good" and to achieve unity of ideas, color and race of their new breeding ground of "humanity last best hope"*. Truly, the mission of white America has been global, ever so more when foreign affair experts realized that local happenings in a far off land of Mozlems can cause catastrophe's at the heart of America (we're no less expected to call the carnage unholy in Islamic terms).


I am surprised by the shocking lack of creativity and unpredictability of US Imperial Mind when it comes to enslaving people - it's just too much predictable. They're very consistent in their policies because only tested methods attract investment and approvals. Be it Haiti, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Iraq, etc., US imperialism works on a given pattern. This is also true, as Chomsky shows in detail, of the method and treatment of America's spiritual and actual fathers, namely, Britishers; how they destroyed the wealth of Dacca and unlimited other "good works" that it's pointless and useless for me to discuss (who's on the receiving end) because it serves no good purpose than one important utility: Knowing this history is crucial to protect oneself from mind control by Western and westernized intellectuals who do not get tired reminding us of the infinite blessings white man has conferred on whole humanity and how much we need to learn from them formulas of eternal success. This is like seeking a Messiah in a Dajjal (or Anti-Christ); perhaps this is why he is called so, "One who deceives."


Chomsky does well to expose the true nature, objective and mechanism of "good work" carried out world's "last best hope". He focuses on Haiti as a case study in the first chapter of his book, Hopes and Prospects. (I couldn't see hope with Americans or for its people, as one of their presidents feared great reprimand from God for the "good works" of his people.) Neoliberal policies become the new enslaving system with lots of appeal and good publicity prospects in home and abroad. Today the main problem is that of illusions which victims are fed with. We are lured with prospects of heavens on earth by our own politicians and every other public intellectual or else, so much so that sovereignty is seen worthy of being traded for it, at least in Pakistan (not true for Latin Americans who're always ablaze with spirits of liberation). The essay can be seen as testifying the perspective presented by John Perkins in his Confessions of an Economic Hitman, which exposed imperialist, expansionist policies of America and how it enslaves countries around the world with debt burdens, regime changes, murders, and what not.


In the end of the essay or speech, Chomsky presents two categories of definition for the term globalization: literal and technical. Literal meaning of the term is that of global integration, peace, harmony and cooperation. The technical meaning, albeit how America sees it, is implementation of neoliberal economic policies with use of all kind of violence to preserve and advance all kinds of interests of US global empire.


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* A must read: Shahid Alam, "World's Greatest Country: Do the facts lie?" http://pakpatriot.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/worlds-greatest-country-do-the-facts-lie/

Extreme Sun, Extreme Man

Sunspot.

For past one century, for past one decade, humanity has seen such crises bigger than any crisis in civilizational history, other than the flood of Nuh or such incidents. Conditions in world have become extreme producing extreme reactions by people of any world-view. One important 'out of control factor' is the catalytic effect of Sun's energy on human mind, just as sun plays a predominant - which is too small a word - in every physical happening and variation; just as sun can destroy space satellites, annihilate electricity in Canada, nullify semiconductors - it also tinkers with sensitive electric currents of human brain.

If we see past 250 years of history of sun's activity - its storms, its 'sunspots' (which emit electro-magnetic rays and flares out of it) - it has reached its peak in 20th century (see photo below in which timeline is given along with sunspot cycles). Its heat and energy emissions have become more intense than anytime before. Sultan B. Mehmood, a Pakistani atomic scientist, could not understand why the effects of sun and its magnanimous variations should not be studied on human mind and behavior. This led him to study human history and sun's history, side-by-side, of past 250 years. He penned the book, in 1997-8 (?) and came out with startling predictions which turned out to be remarkably true.

The core prediction was about the rise of agitation, restlessness, aggression and terrorism in next decade; about the physical, earthly disasters we'd see from 2008-2017 along with political turmoil and violence. Studying the 'cosmic effects' of sun spots and sun storms on human mind and moods, he said back then that next decade would manifest extreme human behaviour which if not controlled will create havoc and crises. The bottom line is: if you can have control on your charged emotions, it turns into positivity - creativity, productivity, life, thought and civilization. He adds, "Make the hay while sun shines." Hence, extremism in behavior and outlook, is a major human problem everywhere.

When the attacks of 9/11 took place, intelligence agencies arrested Mr. Method and interrogated, "What you wrote in your book has turned out to be remarkably true. Maybe you are the master-mind behind these attacks." The author only had to say, "When i wrote the book (in '98) I also sent its copies to President Bill Clinton, PM Tony Blair and other heads of state urging them to show leadership to ensure peace." (These are not exact quotes as I am relying on memory.)

The book is written in a very acute scientific manner which is, nonetheless, highly readable by laymen. It is also punctuated by such sections on Sun's role in 'the choice of marriage and children', etc. It has useful advices for people from all walks of life from politicians to entrepreneurs It is very statistically and methodically written with case histories of events occurring in past 250 years both on sun and earth.

Sunspot cycles and timeline

Yin-Yang: "No Tyranny of the OR"

In Built to Last, authors argue that visionary firms that last and endure all phases a firm can endure and pass the tset of time, don't settle for half-half, for either this OR that. Rather. They're inspired by "Glory of the AND". Like, they give many examples for that and I'll just quote one:: "a relatively fixed core ideology AND vigorous change and movement" (p.44).

They also claim that their principles, glory of the AND just being one, extracted after a 6-year research on 36 different companies, applies well beyond the boundaries of business institutions, rather to all kinds of institutions. They didn't realize this when they authored the book, but by the feedback from all over the book.

In our society we see the shadows of the "Tyranny of the OR" pervading over the hearts and minds of I don't know how many people. Even genuinely good people at heart say, "You can't do a business without playing foul, or in (negatively) clever manner in Pakistan, we'll be doomed if you do that," "People are so mean, they don't even change, You're living in an ideal world." Idealism, that's good, given the evidence the authors of the book, although they call it pragmatic idealism.

Aftermath

I felt ease and inner joy. I went to a bookstore and looked for that book, although I couldn't find it, I found another of the same author: Islam and the Destiny of Man. I's looking for, Remembering God. Both by late Hassan Gai Eaton. After getting rid of Karen's autobiography, which I had to read for an MPhil thesis candidate to discuss it with him, word by word, I was badly yearning for some Light, some Intellect, some Illumination, to fill the void created by her long life's story. But something that dealt with the same issues as Karen's autobiography did - God, Tradition, spirituality, certainty - written in idiom and style a modern man could understand, written for Western audience, primarily. Nothing clicked my mind than Remembering God, which I had partially read. And I am relieved and joyful at reading Eaton's Islam. The rust of my mind is vanishing caused by Karen's life story. Beauty is overshadowing inner darkness. And Light is approaching horizon after a week's darkness...

InshaAllah, soon I'd share excerpt from the book. I just couldn't wait to write this post...

Dealing with Karen

I am not at all angry with her. Karen has proved to be a quite resourceful writer, in her autobiography The Spiral Staircase, about which I wrote in some previous post. Certainly, she is a fast learner who is emphatic to other voices and perspectives, but, as usual with moderns, sentimental, such that it stops her looking at things the way they are. (Although it was her this quality which made her sympathetic, as well as in her writings, to Islam, in times when it was being maligned in West.) I don't want to list here her grave shortcomings as a good human being which Westerners may never quote as bad manners; but which only the genius of Islam identifies and cures, such as following one's own lust to the extent of making it one's 'god', as Qur'an puts it.

Her story of failure in finding God by becoming part of the Catholic church, as nun, was quite helping and made me more firm in the religion of Abraham. She spend a large part of life as ex-nun despising, disowning and rightly debunking the Church order and all the innovative lies they came up with contrary to the message of Jesus. She came across modern biblical scholarship and this led her to come close, unknowingly at that time (or still) in my view, to the Qur'anic perspective of Christianity: Qur'an severely criticizes the lies they later invented in the name of god; made Sayyidina Isa the alleged Son of God, which she found was only 'Son of Man' as Jesus said. And that much part of Bible available today was written by man, St Paul and other who came before him.

The bottom-line is: My belief in Islam is enhanced by the fact that when I don't see a perfectly traditional Christian, a Buddhist, or else, finding Allah as He is, it is only that Allah himself has closed all other doors to him, except Islam. Even when she started writing A History of God, having nothing other work/project to do, she was done with God, who never responded to his prayers at convent, nor could she feel him for a moment for those seven painful, 'unhealthy' years as a nun...

Mitigation & Rediscovery

I need a super-shield against the force of overriding effects of books by humans. I do want my perception to grow at a rate equal to an exploding nubale. But at the cost of negatively effectively my heart, which alone should be purified for Allah - Nay!

Allow me to clear the fog. I am forced to read the autobiography of a writer on world religions, Karen Armstrong: The Spiral Staircase. I haven't yet read her works, except a page or two. Because it is 'an exceptionally impressive autobiography' (Daily Telegraph), it to an extent tends to erode my originality of being a Hanif, follower of Sayyidina Ibrahim, and since i am not left untouched by the power of writing and gifted memory she has, I also tend to imitate her in the way I express myself, even to my own self. This is what I detest.

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Karen left her family and college at 17 for convent just 'to find God', and then led a very austere, soul-crushing, self-negating, and, as she calls, 'unhygienic' life as a nun for 7 long years at her own will. Failing to find God for a single moment, she left convent and 'returned to secular life'. Later she finds 'transcendence' and 'ecstasy' in comparative study of world religions and discovered the Golden Rule common to all religions: Compassion. I yet have to read those chapters... Nonetheless, I have made a long story short for you.

I was thoroughly impressed by the first part of her life, i.e., the intent of Catholics behind their illegal activities (according to Islam, such monasticism is prohibited). Every single moment and movement, of mind and body, at convent was directed towards God, to attain His presence, and 'to soar like an eagle', as Bible promised. Here they confronted their nafs boldly, directly and brutally, and missed no opportunity to subdue it to God.

But what went wrong with her. Why no one at convent could experience God, the single aim of the experiment, as Karen says? This is the rediscovery. This amplified my own belief in Islam. What ever the Order of Christianity promised to the seeker failed. It is important to note here that this particular Order/System Karen belonged to took Prophet Jesus as son of God (nauzbillah). She failed to find happiness and peace, Allah because Allah has closed all doors to Him, except Islam!

Beautiful part of the ongoing reading is unexpectedness: My certitude in Islam increased by a story of nun who turned secular!

What makes an Idea a SUCCESs?

Read Made to Stick: Why some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Heath brother that what makes an Idea a SUCCESS is SUCCESs. It stands for:

- Simple

- Unexpected

- Credible

- Concrete

- Emotional

- Stories

If any idea that is to be communicated has few or all above qualities, it would STICK in the minds of audience, others would die. The rest of the book just explains each quality. Plus, the whole book is filled with useful resources for teachers, as one of the author has been a very enthusiastic teacher.