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luke
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Location: by the sea
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 Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:01 pm Post subject: Archbishop of Canterbury - US is ‘worst’ imperialist |
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US is ‘worst’ imperialist
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday.
Rowan Williams claimed that America’s attempt to intervene overseas by “clearing the decks” with a “quick burst of violent action” had led to “the worst of all worlds”.
In a wide-ranging interview with a British Muslim magazine, the Anglican leader linked criticism of the United States to one of his most pessimistic declarations about the state of western civilisation.
He said the crisis was caused not just by America’s actions but also by its misguided sense of its own mission. He poured scorn on the “chosen nation myth of America, meaning that what happens in America is very much at the heart of God’s purpose for humanity”.
Williams went beyond his previous critique of the conduct of the war on terror, saying the United States had lost the moral high ground since September 11. He urged it to launch a “generous and intelligent programme of aid directed to the societies that have been ravaged; a check on the economic exploitation of defeated territories; a demilitarisation of their presence”.
He went on to suggest that the West was fundamentally adrift: “Our modern western definition of humanity is clearly not working very well. There is something about western modernity which really does eat away at the soul.”
Williams suggested American leadership had broken down: “We have only one global hegemonic power. It is not accumulating territory: it is trying to accumulate influence and control. That’s not working.”
He contrasted it unfavourably with how the British Empire governed India. “It is one thing to take over a territory and then pour energy and resources into administering it and normalising it. Rightly or wrongly, that’s what the British Empire did — in India, for example.
“It is another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put it back together — Iraq, for example.”
In the interview in Emel, a Muslim lifestyle magazine, Williams makes only mild criticisms of the Islamic world. He said the Muslim world must acknowledge that its “political solutions were not the most impressive”.
He commends the Muslim practice of praying five times a day, which he says allows the remembrance of God to be “built in deeply in their daily rhythm”. |
from http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2937068.ece
i don't quite agree with the archbishop here, i don't think the british empire was any better. and when my back ordered 'The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire' finally ( if ever ) arrives - i'll be able to argue my case better!
also to say its the worst kind of implies theres a 'best' - and there isn't - imperialism is evil. theres a quote i'm trying to remember from orwell i think that sums it up well, but i can't remember it
i do agree with him though on 'Our modern western definition of humanity is clearly not working very well. There is something about western modernity which really does eat away at the soul.' |
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Skylace
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Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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I don't agree with him either on this. It's almost like saying being eaten by a grizzly bear is far worse than being eaten by a polar bear. They're both equally terrible in their own ways.
Like you say imperialism is just plain bad, whoever and wherever it is. |
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