Posted on 08/21/2005 10:46:39 PM PDT by naturalman1975
If there must be one superpower, let it be one that shares our values, writes Peter Costello.
Last Monday was the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Pacific. Australia and the United States went into World War II separately but came out of it together: as allies, as friends.
By February 1942 the continental mainland of Australia was under direct air attack. Australia faced its gravest security threat. But beginning with the naval battles in the Coral Sea, with the Australian land defence of Port Moresby and the island campaign under Douglas MacArthur, the war began to turn. It ended in circumstances that are well known.
Anyone who lived through that period knows that in Australia's greatest hour of need it was the forces of the United States that stood with us in the defence of Australia and ultimately secured victory in the Pacific.
This is the World War II generation - a generation sometimes described as the "greatest generation". My generation is the sons and daughters of that generation.
But we should not assume that these events loom large in the minds of the next generation.
It is common in this country, like so many others, to come across anti-American sentiment.
It is always there, but it rises at times of Australia's military engagement in coalition with the US. Most recently Australia's engagement in Iraq has raised these sentiments.
Critics commonly allege that Australia is only engaged in these theatres at the urging of, or in some supine gesture towards, the US. "After all," one senior school student aggressively asked me at a local school, "what have the Americans ever done for us?"
What indeed? I began my answer with the events of 1941. There was no flicker of recognition. It was clear to me that whatever the educational achievements of this school, the teaching of history was not among them.
Anti-Americanism is not unique to Australia. In Europe, particularly France, it is widespread.
Part of the feeling against America in Europe stems from the fact that although America is a much younger country it has managed to take the leadership role in world affairs that Europeans believe rightly should belong to them. In the minds of many in Europe, America is an immature upstart. Of course, one of the reasons this upstart became a global leader is that it proved quite successful and valuable to France in 1944!
Anti-Americanism is virulent in the Arab world. I will not give examples. They are regularly published in newspapers and on websites. Some of them can be extremely offensive. They mostly revolve around perceived injustices to Islam, the Palestinians or the so-called influence of the Jews.
But a sense of denied global leadership or a perceived injustice to the Arab world is not likely to be the source of anti-Americanism in Australia. So where does it come from?
There has always been hostility from some on the left of politics towards America. These are people who believe capitalism is evil and that the US is the place where the evil of capitalism and exploitation is most at home. During the Cold War, Marxists and socialists of various types were ideologically or emotionally drawn to the communist side. Their side lost. This gave them even stronger reason to dislike America.
Fortunately, communism has now been consigned to the dustbin of history. But the sentiment hasn't entirely disappeared. The left in Australian politics is still there but has morphed itself into other names. One of the names you will find it takes today is "anti-globalisation".
Outside of left-wing circles, there might be another reason for resentment towards the US. There is a resentment about the level of US power.
People get suspicious about power because they fear that at the end of the day it might be used against them, or their interests, or the interests of those they care for.
But if the world is to have a hegemon, the modern US is the kind of hegemon we would like to have: democratic, respectful of human rights, with strong and genuine belief in individual liberty.
A stable international order which recognises these values is far preferable to one where great powers seek to extinguish these values, or to an unstable international order where these values cannot be guaranteed or enjoyed.
A stable, free, democratic condition is not the natural condition of the human race. In the sweep of world history this is the exception, not the rule. Democracy is something that has to be worked at.
There is another level of values, a less important level, where Australians might worry about US influence. American mass culture is very strong. It is exported around the world principally through media. A fair bit of it is distasteful, particularly views on violence and sex portrayed on television or movies coming out of Hollywood.
Before we get too self-righteous about this, we should acknowledge that there is an element of Australian popular culture that is equally distasteful. We could certainly give the Americans a run for their money in a race to the bottom.
Unfortunately America has found it much easier to spread its mass culture than to spread its high principles.
So some people blame America for "evil capitalism". Some resent its power. Some dislike aspects of its mass culture. None of these things threaten Australia, its vital interests or its core values. In fact, American power is supportive of our core values. Our country has no solid reason for anti-Americanism.
Peter Costello is the federal Treasurer. This is an extract from his speech to the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue Forum on Saturday.
now if only there weren't more like him out in the world. I betcha no one outside of Australia and the Freep world will hear of this.
I like this guy.
Well, there's quite a good chance he will be the next Prime Minister of Australia.
The product of a leftist media, unfortunately.
That's what Mates are for.
My Uncle was in the very first group of US Army Air Forces sent to Darwin in 41/42(airfield ground support unit) and spoke of the Japaneses bombing campaign of Darwin many tims
tims = times
Really?
COOL rack him if he write like he telling the facts here he be one hell of PM
"Unfortunately America has found it much easier to spread its mass culture than to spread its high principles."
Its easier to influence a people by selling them a movie with graphic sex and violence, than to be recognized for helping feed a starving nation.
How does that happen?
The bad outweigh the good? Perhaps.
But American culture is not portrayed in any movie or film made today. Many years ago it would have been true ( say from the 50`s and back ), but today it is not.
Hollywood and the media has ruined America`s image throughout the world. It is but a very few who have branded a nation with an image it does not deserve.
But...but...we have no overseas allies! We are unilateral! </sarc>
"Part of the feeling against America in Europe stems from the fact that although America is a much younger country it has managed to take the leadership role in world affairs that Europeans believe rightly should belong to them."
And there we have it.
(Someone stole my italics!!!)
But this article doesn't go near far enough. It's filled with qualifications. I guess it's hard to express unqualified gratitude to any long-term benefactor. But that's OK. The Aussies are great friends although many [young and in school] are apparently detached from reality:
Anyone who lived through that period knows that in Australia's greatest hour of need it was the forces of the United States that stood with us in the defence of Australia and ultimately secured victory in the Pacific.
Do you have to have actually lived through the period to know this most basic fact of history? I guess he's talking about the younger generation being un-educated on the facts of WWII.
They need to add this to textbooks Down Under: Australia has never developed a military capable of fending off the Asian powers. It was Britain and then the US that played that role.
It follows that Australia would not exist in its current form [white Western, free] without US military might. Same is true for all the NATO countries. They've all received the peace dividend i.e. the luxury of mimimal defense budgets for decades because Uncle Sam is there to pick up the slack and keep the wolves at bay. Ironically, in this way the US has indirectly funded Euro social programs.
Of course the Europeans have spent their peace dividend on socialism and they're still going broke. At least Australia is the least leftist of our military dependents, although apparently it's getting worse.
But the New Zealand parasites are worthy of raw contempt. Easy for them to go "nuke free". What a joke. How about next time [and yes there's always a next time] Asian Conquistadores want to do a Nanking or Bataan type operation down New Zealand way -- why don't we draw the line at Australia and let the Kiwis slug it out for themselves.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh, yes. Sincere thanks to the Aussies for their contributions in every major war going back 100 years or more. And I do mean sincere. But please, how about some slightly more accurate perspective: the American security umbrella provided to hundreds of millions of Westerners across the world for the past 60 years is the core foundation of the peaceful high quality life that same are experiencing!
You can't put a price on it.
And back here in the states I guess we need to face a little reality also: The Leader of the Pack gets small thanks and endless suggestions for improving performance.
Someone finally said it. Europe is JEALOUS of us.
From: Life of Brian
Reg: They bled us white, the bastards. They've taken everything we had. And not just from us! From our fathers, and from our father's fathers.
Loretta: And from our father's father's fathers.
Reg: Yeah.
Loretta: And from our father's father's father's fathers.
Reg: Yeah, all right Stan, don't delay with the point. And what have they ever given us in return?
Revolutionary I: The aqueduct?
Reg: What?
Revolutionary I: The aqueduct.
Reg: Oh. Yeah, yeah, they did give us that, ah, that's true, yeah.
Revolutionary II: And the sanitation.
Loretta: Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like.
Reg: Yeah, all right, I'll grant you the aqueduct and sanitation, the two things the Romans have done.
Matthias: And the roads.
Reg: Oh, yeah, obviously the roads. I mean the roads go without saying, don't they? But apart from the sanitation, the
aqueduct, and the roads...
Revolutionary III: Irrigation.
Revolutionary I: Medicine.
Revolutionary IV: Education.
Reg: Yeah, yeah, all right, fair enough.
Revolutionary V: And the wine.
All revolutionaries except Reg: Oh, yeah! Right!
Rogers: Yeah! Yeah, that's something we'd really miss Reg, if the Romans left. Huh.
Revolutionary VI: Public bathes.
Loretta: And it's safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg.
Rogers: Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let's face it; they're the only ones who could in a place like this.
All revolutionaries except Reg: Hahaha...all right...
Reg: All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
Revolutionary I: Brought peace?
Reg: Oh, peace! Shut up!
LOL..........I was JUST thinking of that!
Actually, that is exactly what Mr Costello is talking about. Most Australians under the age of 30 have never been taught about the Second World War. It just doesn't figure in our education system - believe me, I know - I'm a secondary school History teacher, and while I do teach my students about the Second World War, I can only do so because I teach at an independent school and so have a lot more freedom to add to the curriculum than most teachers do.
Of course the Europeans have spent their peace dividend on socialism and they're still going broke. At least Australia is the least leftist of our military dependents, although apparently it's getting worse.
Actually getting less left wing all the time. That's not to say that that process couldn't reverse at some point, but Australia had its deepest experiments and experience with socialism during the 1970s and 1980s - since then, the country has started swinging back to conservatism, and it's probably now at its most conservative since the 1950s. There is no guarantee it will stay that way, but I certainly can't see how it's getting worse at the moment.
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