13. Bridging Gap between us and them

• Bridge: a. a structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a

depression or obstacleb. 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

• World politics: entering a new phase• the great divisions among humankind • the source of conflict

: cultural rather than ideological or economic

• 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, Slavic-Orthodox, 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

• how can we bridge gap between the West and the East, or the Global North and the Global South?

• 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 society3. 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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