tp159.xml
Title
tp159.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-03
TomPaine Story: Story
Toward A More Perfect Union
Arrogance is a relative term. Dictionaries go on about the state of being this or that, but arrogance is wholly subjective. There is no objective state of affairs wherein claims of success are measured against reality to determine ones guilt. Arrogance is not an absolute. It lives in the eyes of others. It exists solely in the realm of subjective judgment.
This is the most important lesson we have learned as a nation since September. We know that by any objective or subjective measure the US is the worlds most powerful nation. Unrivaled as a military or economic power, our social institutions are the envy of the world, and along with the rest of the West, we exert a cultural influence unknown since Pax Romana.
What reason could we have to think we should not be running the whole show? There are so many things we might do to help - so much collective wisdom we might pass on to those who need it most. With countless nations struggling to develop stable political and social institutions, and still more who find it difficult to move out of the dark ages and into the 21st century, surely even the most ardent cultural-relativist would admit that our story is a must read for the up-and-coming nation-state.
But charges of arrogance place the burden of proof on the defendant. We are thus faced with validating of our claims to leadership while exerting the unsubtle day to day influence of an unopposed superpower. There is no place to hide. The world is looking on in anticipation - not only for what we will do, but how we will do it. Charges of arrogance are inevitable ñ but will they be justified, or will we face them with the quiet confidence bred only from success?
Arrogance is a relative term. Dictionaries go on about the state of being this or that, but arrogance is wholly subjective. There is no objective state of affairs wherein claims of success are measured against reality to determine ones guilt. Arrogance is not an absolute. It lives in the eyes of others. It exists solely in the realm of subjective judgment.
This is the most important lesson we have learned as a nation since September. We know that by any objective or subjective measure the US is the worlds most powerful nation. Unrivaled as a military or economic power, our social institutions are the envy of the world, and along with the rest of the West, we exert a cultural influence unknown since Pax Romana.
What reason could we have to think we should not be running the whole show? There are so many things we might do to help - so much collective wisdom we might pass on to those who need it most. With countless nations struggling to develop stable political and social institutions, and still more who find it difficult to move out of the dark ages and into the 21st century, surely even the most ardent cultural-relativist would admit that our story is a must read for the up-and-coming nation-state.
But charges of arrogance place the burden of proof on the defendant. We are thus faced with validating of our claims to leadership while exerting the unsubtle day to day influence of an unopposed superpower. There is no place to hide. The world is looking on in anticipation - not only for what we will do, but how we will do it. Charges of arrogance are inevitable ñ but will they be justified, or will we face them with the quiet confidence bred only from success?
Collection
Citation
“tp159.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 7, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/683.