Sunday, 9 June
 |
| China Manned Space Program |
Did
you see the picture of President Obama greeting the Chinese leader Xi Friday at
the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, California? They both wore dark blue jackets with white
shirts open at the collar. The two day
summit was described as “constructive”, which in diplomatic terms means the two
men exchanged differing views. This is
as would be expected. Both the United
States and China are powerful, economic competitors and have contrasting
political governing philosophies. What is
important is for the two nations to build a relationship that encourages a
respectful dialogue and enables the two governments to work together where
there is common ground. The alternative
to diplomacy is a world of constant tension, with China and the U.S. constantly
exchanging charges and counter-charges in the press in an atmosphere of
suspicion and open hostility, much like what existed between America and the
Soviet Union over the course of the Cold War.
We do not want to repeat the madness of two nuclear-armed militaries
facing off with their fingers on the trigger.
China
grew from what was essentially a rural, developing nation to that of the
world’s second largest economy with remarkable speed once their Communist
leader, Mao Zedong, died. He had lead a
largely peasant army in the overthrow of a pro-Western leader, Chiang Kai-Shek,
in 1949. Chiang’s legacy continues today
with a separate Chinese government remaining in power on the island of
Taiwan. Continued United States support
of Taiwan is one of the many points of friction mainland China has with the
government in Washington. It can be
argued that disagreements between our two nations have more to do with
competing national interests than with conflicting political ideology. Many
economists anticipate China to overtake the U.S. as the world’s economic
powerhouse during the course of this century.
The resulting repercussions would go beyond economics and would reduce
this nation’s global political influence.
In fact, this is already occurring.
While the United States government struggles with containing its deficit
budget, China is investing vast sums of money in building a global
infrastructure that will assure it access to resources needed to fuel its
economic growth. Uncle Sam no longer
carries the fat wallet that once opened doors.
Germany
is the economic powerhouse that dominates Europe. Until recently the same could be said of
Japan’s relationship with Asia. In the
previous century both nations brought devastation to their societies by
choosing military aggression as their means of achieving what they have
peacefully attained today. Their leaders
had not the wisdom to realize faith in one’s ideas and the resourcefulness of
their people can alone overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to their
goals. It is important that the leaders
of the United States also appreciate this fact.
Competition between nations, between cultures and between ideals is
never fully resolved among the people viewing the world stage. The Cold War ended with a clear decision as
to which societal approach to governance had greater merit. That struggle ended more than twenty years
ago. The world has moved on. An entirely new generation has come of
age. We have reinvented ourselves
technologically into an era that would have seemed science fiction to those who
witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall.
That is the nature of progress.
That is the nature of human kind.
We continually take on new challenges and we don’t slow down for
anyone. I tell myself, "Get used to it."
Love,
Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment