more on A foreign knowledge desert requires cultural irrigation.... in both direcitons....

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Munro, Neil" <NMunro () nationaljournal com>
Date: May 8, 2006 11:57:12 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] A foreign knowledge desert requires cultural  
irrigation.... in both direcitons....


        As an ex-Eutopian - I actually ran a Young Europeans Club in
university! - I can vouch for Max Hasting's comments about the
Europeans, especially this nice little para re. his visit to the U.S. in
the late 1960s; "I learned a lot about the midwest and the south, which
few Europeans visit, yet which are fundamental to an understanding of
the country. I toured corn farms in Nebraska, cattle ranches in Texas,
computer firms in Ohio and vineyards in California."

        Even now, when I visit the old continent, I'm just astounded by
the ignorance and smugness of many of my peers, which - I assume -
shared back then. They still seem to believe they learned all they need
to know about the U.S. by watching 'Dallas' and 'Sex in the City' or by
listening to taxpayer-funded radio.

        However, there's hope yet - they also watch the Simpsons.

        
Neil






-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 2:42 PM
To: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: [IP] A foreign knowledge desert requires cultural irrigation



Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
Date: May 4, 2006 4:08:25 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: A foreign knowledge desert requires cultural irrigation

Dave:

There's a nice constructive article in today's (UK) Guardian about
Americans' lack of knowledge of the world outside the USA by Sir Max
Hastings, the author and former editor of the (London) Evening
Standard, which you might want for IP.

Cheers

Brian

> A foreign knowledge desert requires cultural irrigation
>
> Unless we teach Americans more about us, we'll continue to be
> dismayed by the thrust of their foreign policies
>
> Max Hastings
> Thursday May 4, 2006
> The Guardian
>
> A couple of weeks ago I met a bright young Senate staffer on
> Capitol Hill in Washington. Like most such people, he possesses a
> lot of influence and significant power. He has at his fingertips
> details of every planet in his universe - names, wards, counties,
> votes, biographies, vices.
>
> His only limitation is an absolute ignorance of the world outside
> the US. He had visited London with his wife on a European
> sightseeing trip. He once attended a conference in Asia. His self-
> assurance and fluency are undiminished by knowing nothing of the
> foreign issues on which his employer speaks and votes in the
> Senate. He is content with mastery of his own, all-American sphere,
> and has no desire to burden his agenda with the arcane affairs of
> Britons or Germans, or even of Afghans or Iraqis.
>
> Article continues
> His mindset is characteristic of many smart young Americans, and
> matters a lot to the rest of us. Our destinies are at the mercy of
> the US, and will continue to be. The passing of the generation that
> found itself obliged to voyage overseas in the second world war has
> had perverse consequences. Though 21st-century Americans can travel
> much more easily and cheaply than did their grandparents, their
> horizons are narrower. As mere tourists, few of us learn much about
> any society.
>
> The foreign knowledge desert will not water itself. Few Americans,
> even clever and ambitious ones, feel a need to inform themselves
> about abroad. Only a policy of cultural irrigation, which will have
> to start with us and not them, offers a chance of helping the next
> generation of US powerbrokers to know a little more about the
> outside world than does the present one.
>
> Because we are Europeans, we can aspire only to enlighten others
> about our own patch, but that would be a start.

. . .

Full story at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1766834,00.html


--
School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon
Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/



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