America in the "Global Century"...

The last few days I have read two incredible books that both really got me thinking about all sorts of subjects: politics, race, religion, economies, etc. First I read Pico Ayer's amazing travel memoir, Video Night in Kathmandu. I couldn't put the book down. From the first chapter when he talks about the fusing of cultures and the phenom of the 80's when everything American was all the rage in Asia I was hooked. Great read, especially for anyone who likes to travel, and when I say travel I don't mean get on a flight, land, take a shuttle to some all-inclusive resort behind guarded gates so that you can sit around drinking cocktails by a pool when you are 100 yards from an ocean. Or never leave the resort other than to go on some excursion where you are herded around like cattle from bus to attraction to bus back to the cozy resort. That isn't traveling. I digress. So his book rocked and then I started The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. Wow. Another one I couldn't put down. The book has been around for more than 40 years so I know this isn't news to anyone but man I truly wish I would have read it sooner.

So after I read a book I really enjoy, I typically end up online looking up information about the author, gotta love the wikipedia and old google. Obviously there is ton of info about Malcolm X. I watched several of his speeches on youtube and read several transcripts of various speeches and lectures he gave. There is good stuff in regards to Iyer as well. One of the things that I found that stuck out was a small article he did about meeting Obama (while Iyer was hanging out with Paul Theroux, another bad ass travel writer) in Hawaii 2 years ago. Here is a great passage from the article that really hit home for me:

"Everywhere I've been this year - from Jerusalem to Japan to Colombia to Italy and back again - I've heard people essentially say that America is an overweight, white plutocrat who is not only out of touch with the world but also shows no signs of wanting to grow closer to it. This is as unfair as any image - contradicted at every moment by the kindness and curiosity of many Americans - but it remains a potent one in a world where people communicate more with images than ideas and assumptions travel faster than truths. The best way to begin to correct it is to show the world a leader who can't really say how much he's African or Asian or American or just a product of their mixing in Hawaii. The point is not just that Obama will bring globalism to America; in his name, his face and his issues, he'll bring America back to the globe."

If you want to read the whole article check here http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20081108/us_time/mychanceencounterwithobamainhawaii

I think both books spurned me into scouring the internet for several hours reading news reports. Aside from internet, I am completely disconnected from news outside of this island. Granted there are papers here and tv, but I don't have a tv and most of the stories in the papers only deal with local news and the occasional big stories from home. A few hours was all I could take though. Even though I came across the occasional gem such as Iyer's article, most of the headlines were bad news I just don't want to know about and since I don't give a fuck about what Britney Spears and the rest of the mutants are doing, I was forced to keep searching for INTERESTING news from home. The one that finally did it for me was when I read that last Friday a Walmart employee was trampled to death as he was trying to unlock the doors to the store.

This is the kind of shit that leaves me scathingly angry and is pretty much why I hate X-mas but that is a different subject. I don't really want to go on a rant here but basically I think that after reading two books like this and feeling optimistic about America growing into the "Global Century" to see a story about this rampant and ridiculous frenzy of consumers who are so intent on beating others to the racks to buy a bunch of shit they really don't need and they end up leaving some poor dude (who was working for a temp agency no less) dead as they run right over the top of him to save a few dollars. How do you explain this type of insanity to people? How can I justify actions like this by people of my home country to the people in the countries I visit, people who aren't ridden with lust and insatiable greed, people who only buy what they NEED and can AFFORD? Still to this day I end up buying more than I need when I go grocery shopping. 30 years living in a country full of excess is not easily shaken off. For the time being I will remain hopeful that during his presidency Obama may help to diffuse some of the old ways and maybe people can start realizing that there is a world outside of our own little bubbles and that there are a hell of a lot better things to do with your time and money than camping in a Walmart parking lot and being part of a mob that is responsible for destroying someone's life. Fuck me, this is why I usually ignore the news, where's the rum?