Transcript No Slide Title

13. Bridging Gap between us and them
• Bridge:
a. a structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a
depression or obstacle
b. a time, place, or means of connection or transition
• Drawbridge with Carriage, 1888.
• Van Gogh painted “the Pont de Langlois” in Arles of
France
- a bridge over the canal that links Arles and Bouc.
• Van Gogh’s Japonaiserie: Ohashi Bridge in the Rain
• Van Gogh learned from the bridge in Rain, a print by the
19th century Japanese artist Hiroshige
• Crows: an episode in the film Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
(1990)
- Kurosawa builds a bridge for East and West to meet and
interact in an impressive artistic encounter.
• through a bridge Kurosawa’s film depicts the entrance of
the Japanese painter into Van Gogh’s world
- the bridge links the two cultures
• an interesting encounter bridges two cultures, two periods
of time, and two spaces.
The Clash of Civilization
– Huntington
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World politics: entering a new phase
the great divisions among humankind
the source of conflict
: cultural rather than ideological or economic
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conflict in the modern world:
(1) 15 C to 16 C – the conflicts of the Western world
were largely among princes
(2) 17 C to World War I – the conflict of nations
(3) World War I to the end of the Cold War – the conflict
of ideologies
(4) the new world – the cultural conflict
• Eight civilizations
: Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, SlavicOrthodox, Latin American, and African civilization
• its center-piece
: the conflict between the West and non-Western
civilizations
Why Civilizations will crash
differences among civilizations, and between the East and
West
: real and basic
- differences are the product of centuries
: history, language, culture, tradition, and religion
: different views on the relations
- between God and man, the individuals and the
group, the citizen and the state, parents and children
: generated the most violent conflicts
Bridging the Dangerous Gap between the West and the
Muslim World - Paul Wolfowitz
• “There is a dangerous gap between the West and the
Muslim world. … We must bridge this gap.”
• his three years as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia under
President Regan
• his experiences there gave his appreciation of the common
ground shared by East and West
(1) Islam’s tradition of tolerance and moderation
• the Muslim world was one of the most tolerant and
progressive parts of the world.
• A classic Muslin Hadith, or saying:
- "these differences among my people is a mercy of God.“
- “God gave us different views of things so that we might
discuss important issues in peace, find truth, and reach
compromise.”
- The idea of peacefully debating differences is a foundation
of Western civilization—liberal democracy.
(2) common ground of East and West
• for most who dwell on this earth, justice and peace are an
ancient dream—freedom, an ageless desire
• the United States has tried to help others achieve the dream
of peace
- “We helped Muslims, not because they are Muslims, but
because they are human beings.”
• “Any life that is lost in war is a human life, be it that of an
Arab or an Israeli. Innocent children who are deprived of
the care and compassion of their parents are ours. They are
ours. …. whether they live in Arab lands or in Israel." Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt
(3) Reaching out to moderate voices and strengthening them
• “To help shape a more peaceful world, we must speak to
the hundreds of millions of moderate and tolerant people in
the Muslim world … who aspire to enjoy the blessings of
freedom and democracy and free enterprise.” - Wolfowitz
• Chao Chung-hsiang (1910-91): Chinese painter
• his goal was to create a balance of East and West in his
works
• He used both Eastern and Western media (Chinese ink on
rice paper as well as acrylic and canvas)
- Chao's brush, traditional Chinese images, such as birds,
bamboo and fish, are overlaid with colorful and sometimes
shocking squares, dots, circles, splashes or runs
- Chao combined Eastern philosophy with Eastern and
Western symbols to create something unique
• “My frame of mind has been profoundly influenced by an
unbiased, 'middle-of-the-road' outlook, and my emotions
abound with natural expressions of my 'love' for all things
in the universe.”
• 中庸: an unbiased, middle-of-the-road outlook
International Relations, Bridge, and Sociological
Imagination
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how can we bridge gap between the West and the East,
or the Global North and the Global South?
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what is the structure of human society?
What is its essential components?
How are they related to one another?
Where does the society stand in human history?
• The sociological imagination (C.W. Mill)
1. It enables us to understand the larger historical scene
: in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external
career of individuals
2. It enables us to grasp
: history and biography and the relationship between the
two within society
3. the individual can understand his own experience and
gauge his own fate
: only by locating himself within his period
Realism
• states followed a largely realist view,
: putting their self and national interests ahead of common
or global interests
: states - compete with other states for power, position,
and prestige
• working with other states on common problems secondary
• it is natural to have a collision of misunderstanding
between the East and the West or the Global South and the
Global North
Liberalism
• “in the ruthless world of AIDS there is no us and them”
and “international solidarity is required to fight the disease
which in a globalized planet spreads across national
borders” – Kofi Annan
• “morally there are no insiders and outsiders” – Donald
Puchala
• “global community’s moral meaning is better expressed in
the notion of a human community which exists prior to the
sovereign state” – Hehir
• “in fundamental moral and ethical matters common
humanity transcends cultural differentiation among
peoples” – Donald Puchala
• “the moral obligation to treat others sympathetically,
respectfully, charitably, and humanely extends across
cultures” – Donald Puchala
• “failing to recognize the plight of others can ultimately
threaten one’s own well-being” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “opposing the general interests of humankind does not
serve a country’s self-interest” – E. H. Carr
• “substantially we all shape the same atmosphere today, and
we can only save ourselves by saving other people also” –
Margaret Med
• “the world has changed in profound ways… but I fear our
concepts of national interest have failed to follow suit. A
new definition of national interest is needed… which
would induce states to find greater unity in the pursuit of
common goods and values” – Kofi Annan
The End
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