As you cross the barricades at Checkpoint Charlie, the entrance to West Berlin, a sign greets you: "You are now entering the American Sector. Carrying weapons off duty forbidden. Obey traffic rules."
Had you just escaped from East Berlin in 1961, you'd probably be relieved to know the U.S. is the leading nation of the world. It has been for some time. And it's doing what it can to free your compatriots from the oppression of communism.
Mostly what the United States did was lead the race for free markets and democracy against regimes that sought global dominance for socialism. With its powerful and seductive social and economic values, Soviet communism conquered a sizable chunk of the earth.
Meanwhile, the U.S. out-gunned, out-governed and out-produced everybody. Our fast-paced success supplied verifiable proof that the Soviets could not keep up. It inspired the world to follow our lead.
In the years since this race was won, the world has moved closer together. Specifically, the world has moved closer to us, embracing our culture and our consumer goods.
The U.S. is the leading voice and activist for globalization -- not surprisingly, motivated by self-interest. Benefits that trickled down to less developed states, while predictable and intentional, were not the basis of our strategy for globalization. Generally, we gained more from other countries, yet those countries accepted this imbalance to distance themselves from the vanquished powers and to cozy up to America, the benevolent giant.
Today, this country is more dependent on the world community than ever before: for labor supply, for consumer base, for energy and for its war on terror. Yet, the international community is a lot less cozy with us, because they believe we're a lot less benevolent.
While our interests have long been different than those of other countries, today's international community is unwilling to give us the benefit of the doubt. A market system, no matter how local or global, cannot resolve every conflicting interest. Sometimes, globalization is not the answer.
Now is such a time. We cannot afford to act unilaterally because our pursuit of these unique goals actually thwarts a more integrated values system.
The current environment of insecurity and uncertainty demands different leadership from the U.S. To begin with, we must pursue our national interests and national security within a system of global governance. It is only this way that the Arab League, the European Union, the United Nations Security Council and the whole international community will regain their trust that American hegemony, which is the teeth behind collective global decisions, is really an expression of international will.
In an interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw last November, President Bush admitted, "I am obviously not one of the world's greatest linguists." Whether poor linguist or poor orator, Bush must not only win support of foreign governments, he must also run an election-style campaign to a worldwide audience. The "Arab street" and the global common folk, often disenfranchised, are detached from the policies of their governments. Fostering understanding of our goals and our values is just as important as the outcomes of our actions, and to do so we need to sell our message more effectively.
Finally, we must be more sensitive to certain demands of the world community. Our relative economic and military advantage does not entitle us to push others around. Remember, 17 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks came from the countries which are the least integrated in the worldwide community -- Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Sure, you'll find a Starbucks in Riyadh and even a KFC in Cairo, but the majority of people in these cities are not better off thanks to globalization or anything the U.S. has done in the world. If we lack an understanding of their interests, they become marginalized, desperate and dangerous. We must seek their support and work to improve their lives. Only then can we follow our own agenda.
The life of an Egyptian today is no different from the life of an East Berliner in 1961. He may not know it, but this Egyptian is someone we need on our side.
Jeff Millman is a senior Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major from Los Angeles, Calif.
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