Hegemony or Survival
Today, The Times newspaper (of London) gave away free copies of the Penguin imprint of "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky. It is a surprising move for a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch (owner of Fox News and other such choice outlets), and known for its mildly right-wing leanings. Was this decision taken by Penguin? Was it editor Tim Hames's decision? It must be the former. Anyway, someone in the UK wants more people to read this book!
Skimming through Chomsky's somewhat dense text, I was reminded of the US government's policies, the actions and doctrines designed to achieve dominance over world affairs. This contrasted with the good times and feelings I had in NYC and Seattle.
During my 90-minute inspection at Newark airport, I had noticed the assertiveness of the US border people in insisting on mobiles (cell phones) being switched off. Yesterday, the US border authorities were given powers to seize cells and cameras. They have also been given powers to take your laptop off you, run some forensics on its contents, and hand it back to you. If you're in a hurry and cannot wait for two hours, you can pay to get it mailed to you once they're done. Of course, this is carried out on the people they pick; your chances are high if you're Arab/Muslim or appear to be so, but they also do these checks on various people, to kind of pad things out a bit.
Regardless, my experience, once I got through the hurdle at Newark, was smooth. At the US/Canada borders, Canadian authorities had asked me some highly specific questions but passed me through quickly, on the way back from Canada, the US authorities hardly asked me anything. My overall experience was one of enjoyment of my stay in the US. I ran into various people who distanced themselves from the 'insane' Bush administration; this made me feel I was in good company. Still, I was in some very liberal parts of the US.
Authority is exercised in the US with more directness and assurance than in the UK. Coming from Egypt, I know the feeling, and I know when to keep my mouth shut. I better not arouse their anger, or I might find myself in a lot of trouble. Although most Americans seem very nice people, something told me that some of them need only mild provocation to expose a nasty side. The ease of acquisition of weapons makes it easier for nutters to go off; but there are also the nasty thoughts that come out of perfectly sane people who will never reach for a gun.
Having said all this, these are general feelings, unsupported ones, with no real evidence to back them up. It is entirely possible that you have a run-in with some very assertive UK authorities, but have the easiest of times with the US ones. Indeed, I recall a terrorist suspect (who was completely innocent) describing his UK treatment as worse than his US treatment. In addition, the US is far from becoming a police state, it's too big a place. As Chomsky points out, the control is invisible, usually via "software" (my term) not hardware, the influencing of how people think, the "manufacturing of consent".
The visible tragedy occurs outside of the US. With yesterday's ruling at Guantanamo - a military court ruling that Osama bin Laden's driver is guilty of supporting terrorism - and the many questions on its legality, one wonders if one can say a good word about the US nowadays without being seen as an apologist for a horrible administration. An administration that officially sanctions torture, renditions, and has illegally imprisoned thousands of people in Guantanamo for years. Some prisoners have committed suicide. Some begged to be allowed to.
I had a great time in the US, and yet Chomsky reminds me of the menace that various US sources of power, its elite, represent.
The great thing is that Chomsky is a US citizen. He speaks his mind, does his research, publishes, all from within the US. And that's surely a good thing. We need more people like him. I wish everyone in America could get a free copy of the book!
I saw wealth, beauty, diversity in the US. I met good, friendly people. That's the US I love.
