The Rise of the Rest

In an excerpt from Fareed Zakaria's book, The Post-American World, he claims Americans have more chance of drowning in their bathtub than being attacked by a terrorist. This is just one of my many interesting points he talks about.

I've been reading a bit of Zakaria lately. I really like his optimistic perspective. Even his recent article commenting on Russia's invasion of Georgia was enlightening in some ways. He sheds light on parts of issues I, and I'm sure others, don't always see. After reading "The Clash of Civilizations" or the "Coming Anarchy," it's nice to hear positive theories about the world's future.

It's nice to hear someone point out that the world isn't as horrible and violent as it appears. According to the excerpt, there is far less violence today than usual. The amazing availability of information just lets us know what is going on on an hourly basis. He even reminds us our fear of Iran is nothing compared to the threat Germany had 70 years ago.

"If this is 1938, as some neoconservatives tell us, then Iran is Romania, not Germany."

Maybe violence will continue to decrease. It's hard to say, especially with realities Kaplan and Huntington talk about looming over the globe. With better means of communication, disputes might be more easily settled. Of course, I might be too idealistic. Zakaria is really going to my head. Well, for another few paragraphs, I'm going to let him hang out up there.

One of the coolest things he talked about was the third major power shift: the rise of the rest. It's great to hear other countries are growing. No longer are we the top of the heap in every category. This is excellent news for the history of the world. Things can never be even in this world. But the more balanced, there might be less confrontation and conflict.

When I went to Australia last year, where I lived for six months, I wrote a paper about "Americanisation" (they don't use "z" as often as us in their version of English). It was a big discussion in an Australian sociology class. Apparently, this is a big concern around the world. We dominate the entertainment industry. Everyone loves our TV shows, movies, and music. I didn't think there was anything wrong with this. After all, when something is quality, you can't not like just because it's from America. I loved "Summer Heights High," an Australian TV show, just as much as they loved watching "The Biggest Loser."

But it did bother me when they complained about American dominance. This is a problem. America shouldn't be the only voice anyone can hear across the globe. It makes it sound like the only reason everyone loves our stuff is because it's the only stuff anyone knows. This could be the case in many circumstances.

According to Zakaria, we are still dominating in the entertainment industry. With his talk about the third power shift, i feel less bothered by American or Western cultural dominance. As countries grow, I believe their voices will be heard. At least I know I'll listen.