Allan Bloom and My Thoughts
So just finished reading for my political science class, on openess and America. It is written by Allan Bloom, and has to do with culture and politics, which happens to be my paper topic for this class. As I was reading it, I came to find myself nodding in agreement with what Bloom was saying. The most common point that ran throughout his paper, was that America and its students in university are losing their interest in other cultures and languages, or learning on such things as Third World Countries, so that they can help to “better” the people that live in those countries.
So first, dealing with the idea that America is losing interest in other cultures. Since I have been back in America, I have begun asking my peers about travelling and leaving the US of A. It helps me to sometimes identify with people or have a common interest when they say yes they are interested and want to travel or have travelled over seas. However, I have already met a couple that have said they dont want to leave the United States, they have no interest and probably never will. This I found puzzling, why wouldnt you want to explore the world? experience things you will never experience in America. One reason could possibly be they are comfortable here, have never left their hometown, or surrounding states, and dont feel the need to. But how will they ever know if they are missing out on something they could truely love? Maybe because I have moved around my entire life, both State side and overseas, I have a biased opinion on travelling and seeing different cultures, and therefore cant relate to these ideas. But for whatever reason, America and the young people have lost interest for the most part in countries other than their homeland.
The second point that I found interesting from this political scientist, was that although Americans arent interested in Europe and Asia, they are interested in Third World Areas, such as Africa. And the main reason he gives is that they are trying to force upon these people a “better” lifestyle, and are condensending while doing so, and in a way imperialism is starting to look more like what the Americans are trying to accomplish. Now I must admit, I am lacking in knowledge about this area, but in a way i agree. I believe we should help out Africa and other developing nations, but we do not need to force upon them ideas from a democratic society or our beliefs. Just because our system works for us and our beliefs work for us, doesnt mean that we need to spread these throughout the world. Helping is always a good thing, and something we, as a Superpower should do, but we should stop there and let countries make decisions on their own, without us getting involved.
Just thought I would say some
Prof.G said,
October 26, 2006 at 7:35 am
Very thought-provoking blog post! One question though: who is Allan Bloom? You call him a political scientist, but is that correct? (I’ve heard of him in other contexts.)
Martha said,
October 26, 2006 at 8:49 am
So, when you ask your peers why they don’t want to leave this country, what’s their reply? Do they simply say they’re “not intersted?” It might interesting to probe a little deeper and see if you find any more specific responses to this question. . .
spierce said,
October 26, 2006 at 11:28 am
This whole thing about the United States being involved or “intrested” in Africa/Third World Nations, I have issues with. Why is it that we will go into Bosnia and Germany durring a genocide, but not Rwanda or Sudan. I think that we still have a racially based complex and understanding of the World which limits our actions. We still have connections to Europe, more so then other places. I completely agree with you that we should be helping in devloping nations, as that is the only way the world can truely globalize. However im not all to sure that Americans in general are in favor of this.
Donald A. Coffin said,
October 30, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Bloom’s point (that interest in other cultures/countries is declining) may or may not be correct. I will say that it does not seem consistent with what I hear from students at my own university. Does he present any evidence for his conclusion?
It’s obviously of some relevance that, if Bloom is correct, this decline in interest comes after years of the US economy becoming more entwined with the rest of the world. Just since 1990, exports have increased from about 8.75% of US GDP to about 12% in 2005, and imports have increased even more rapidly, from about 9.75% of GDP to about 18.5%. Clearly, just from the prespective of how one’s working life is going to turn out after college, a greater interest seems rational.
Do you know whether the interest of students to whom youspoke differed by major? Were, for example, business students more or less interested than the average?