February 07, 2005

Airmiles

Posted by Belle Waring
Could anything be more “Airmiles” than the suggestion that we start an essay competition to foil Bin Laden?
What I would do with the $75 million we have budgeted as rewards for bin Laden and Zarqawi is use it instead to sponsor an essay contest for high school students in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Egypt. The contest entry form would say the following: “In 2,000 words, write an essay on one of these two topics: 1. Why do you believe the Arab-Muslim world is fully capable of achieving democratic, representative government and how do you envisage it coming about through peaceful changes inside your country, without any American or other outside help. 2. Write an essay about the lives of any of the great medieval Arab or Muslim mathematicians, scientists or philosophers and how their innovations helped to shape our world today.”
You know what else we should ask? Turn-ons and turn-offs. Then they could be like, “I’m Miss September from Egypt. Turn-ons: democratic government, long walks on the beach; turn-offs: rude guys!”
Posted on February 7, 2005 11:23 AM UTC
Comments

Lol.

Actually, these two topics should be given to American high school students. That would make more sense.

Posted by abb1 · February 7, 2005 11:30 AM

Except for the turnons. Unfortunately we have just found out what they are and will take some time to recover.

Posted by David Tiley · February 7, 2005 12:29 PM

I am a big fan of the one where he suggests that George W Bush ought to spend a trillion dollars on a project to invent a substitute for petroleum, raising the strong suspicion in my mind that Friedman has never been to Texas.

Posted by dsquared · February 7, 2005 12:40 PM

His particular implementation is a little strange, but I certainly agree with the basic premise. Shouldn’t the West be promoting Western values? Or at least what the West perceives as positive Eastern values?

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 01:00 PM

Contrariwise:

Why do you believe the capitalist-caucasian world is capable of offering spiritual fulfilment, and how do you envisage it coming about through peaceful changes inside your country, without any Islamic or other outside help?

That’s peaceful, Falwellian nutjobs!

Posted by Sheik al-Blaadet · February 7, 2005 01:07 PM

Or maybe $75 million should be spent to educate people the Islam is a Western tradition.

Posted by Rob · February 7, 2005 01:21 PM

Falwell isn’t such a nutjob when compared to say, Sheik Yousuf Qaradhawi. Falwell and Qaradhawi would probably agree with the premise that homosexuality corrupts culture. But the Falwell/Qaradhawi love fest would end when the religious talks came to wife beating and jihad/crusades and the importance of secular education along with religious education.

It is also quite amusing to see that Falwell would condemn the word “crusade” while Qaradhawi often uses the word “jihad”, even though the two words are the flip side of each other.

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 01:35 PM

His particular implementation is a little strange, but I certainly agree with the basic premise. Shouldn’t the West be promoting Western values?

There’s a multi-billion dollar industry at work promoting Western values for almost a century now. It’s called Hollywood.

Friedman’s idea is not a bad idea or an evil idea, it’s just pathetically feeble. It’s up there with spreading awareness of the Arab world by releasing Jordanian schoolkid home videos at Cannes.

Bottom line is, if a potential Arab extremist isn’t already a flaming liberal from viewing free porn on the Internet, that 2000 word high-school essay in Urdu on www.tomfriedman.com probably isn’t going to do the trick either.

Posted by Elliott Oti · February 7, 2005 01:48 PM

If Hollywood is at the forefront of promoting Western values, then we are in deep trouble. Most people in the West understand that Hollywood is mostly amoral and serves to entertain and only very rarely to instruct.

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 02:00 PM

Shouldn’t the West be promoting Western values?

No, the West should promote Dutch values. The Netherlands is the greatest nation on earth.

Now I got some tulip bulb futures to sell.

Posted by Luc · February 7, 2005 02:15 PM

If Hollywood is at the forefront of promoting Western values, then we are in deep trouble.

Hollywood is almost entirely market driven. In terms of ideology, entertainment, and wish-fulfilment, it is the most accurate representative of Western values (insofar such a monolithic concept actually exists). If you have a problem with its content, you have a problem with the majority of your fellow Westerners.

Hollywood’s actually pretty successful. I’d wager that a greater percentage of the world’s population obtains its image of the West (and desire to emigrate to same) from Hollywood movies, than from (say) Steven Den Beste’s painstakingly written libertarian expositions on USS Clueless.

Posted by Elliott Oti · February 7, 2005 02:17 PM

An least anyone misread my meanings, my intent was not to defend Falwell. I consider him at least as dangerous to Western civ as anyone on the far Left. My point was that in the world of Middle-Eastern/North African Islam, Falwell looks extremely liberal.

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 02:22 PM
Jet’s not too far off. An essay contest seems like a particularly dumb “airmiles” idea, but I for one don’t find much to object to in this:
I sort of like the idea of bin Laden sitting in a dark cave somewhere, composing his latest nutty video message, and suddenly learning that all the reward money we were devoting to killing him will go instead to killing his ideas - and to bringing young Arabs and Muslims closer to America rather than pushing them farther away.
Maybe not so much promoting positive Western ideas (although I suppose his second essay topic implies that), but refuting negative strains of Islamic thought.
Posted by Anthony · February 7, 2005 02:23 PM

I sort of like the idea of bin Laden sitting in a dark cave somewhere, composing his latest nutty video message, and suddenly learning that all the reward money we were devoting to killing him will go instead to killing his ideas - and to bringing young Arabs and Muslims closer to America rather than pushing them farther away.

Invasion of Iraq + surgical missile strikes on Iran + military incursions into Syria + anti-Palestinian rhetoric + pro-Western essays on the Internet = Arab youth hearts US.

Bin Laden will be quaking in his boots.

Posted by Elliott Oti · February 7, 2005 02:38 PM

It is also quite amusing to see that Falwell would condemn the word “crusade”

was that before or after he called Mohammed a “terrorist” ?

Posted by cleek · February 7, 2005 02:38 PM

It is also quite amusing to see that Falwell would condemn the word “crusade”

was that before or after he called Mohammed a “terrorist” ?

Posted by cleek · February 7, 2005 02:39 PM

sorry about the double. the first one gave me a 500 error, then i checked (twice) to make sure it didn’t go through before i tried again. apparently it did.

Posted by cleek · February 7, 2005 02:43 PM

I think Friedman has no doubt that there have been no mathematicians, philosophers, or scientists in the Islamic world since the “great medieval.” He gets his history from a theme park place mat, and now he wants to pay the world to reproduce it.

Posted by david · February 7, 2005 02:46 PM

The winners would be awarded visas and four-year scholarships to any accredited university in America to which they could gain acceptance. The winning essays would be posted on the Web in English, Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and French. What do you think would make America more secure? Rewarding one person for turning in bin Laden or putting thousands of young Arabs and Muslims through American schools?

The fool! Doesn’t he realise that this would only bring them into contact with hate-filled leftist academics™ who would singlehandedly turn them into marxist imperialist godless commie islamofascisterroids?

Why does Thomas Friedman hate America?

Posted by Mill · February 7, 2005 02:54 PM

Elliot,
when you say “insofar such a monolithic concept actually exists”, you’re really saying that such a thing doesn’t really exist, right? Are you agreeing that Hollywood’s interpretation is an extreme oversimplification to the point where it isn’t really representative of reality?

For example, in most Hollywood movies, upper class society is often glamorized. But the reality is that most cultures don’t ascribed so much moral inferiority to their wealthiest members as does the West. We all want to be rich, but the rich are a bunch of underserving pigs, right?

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 03:03 PM

Cleek, that is an interesting way to judge morals. It had never occured to me to equate name calling for agitating for religious warfare. After all, adding that word “religious” in front of “warfare” is usually what you do right before you discuss the most brutal horrific inter-cultural wars. As for the name calling, I’m not so sure Mohammed cares what Falwell said about him, sticks and stones…

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 03:15 PM

Are you agreeing that Hollywood’s interpretation is an extreme oversimplification to the point where it isn’t really representative of reality?

No, I’m saying that insofar as a mass consensus of such a thing as “Western values” exists, Hollywood gives the most honest depiction of that consensus.

It may be at odds with reality, but then, ideals and values often are. Those who sell the “American Dream” are honest enough to call it a dream. Hollywood sells it better than anyone else.

Posted by Elliott Oti · February 7, 2005 03:21 PM

Let me guess: Friedman got this idea from a cab driver, didn’t he?

What a yutz.

Posted by Uncle Kvetch · February 7, 2005 03:29 PM

There is the minor problem that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt, at a minimum, wouldn’t take too kindly to such an expression of free thought, and certainly wouldn’t take too kindly to them being broadcast all over the place in Arabic. $75m isn’t much good if you’re in prison.

Posted by Ginger Yellow · February 7, 2005 03:37 PM

But the reality is that most cultures don’t ascribed so much moral inferiority to their wealthiest members as does the West. We all want to be rich, but the rich are a bunch of underserving pigs, right?

Really?

I’d say personally that the exact opposite is the case. The idea that a wealthy person was not necessarily always a corrupt, kleptocratic, morally inferior, undeserving pig was one I first encountered here in the West.

Posted by Elliott Oti · February 7, 2005 03:43 PM

Belle, have you seen the handy-dandy Times link generator?

Posted by todd. · February 7, 2005 04:42 PM

“If Hollywood is at the forefront of promoting Western values, then we are in deep trouble.”

Well Hollywood gave us Ronald Reagan, Charlton Heston, Arnold Swhatznegger (whatever), Shane, John Rambo, etc, et al.

Any problems with them, jet?

Posted by Nabakov · February 7, 2005 05:12 PM

In keeping with the spirit of the author of this post, let me suggest that each essay contest winner, in addition to being awarded and all-expenses-paid American college education, also gets a pony.

Sorry, Belle, that was just too easy.

Posted by Dan · February 7, 2005 06:38 PM

Jesus, what country does “Jet” live in? In the USA, where I live, the rich are worshipped like gods. Turn on the “Apprentice” to see dozens of people bow and scrape to the stunningly uncharismatic Donald Trump, a lousy businessman who has gone bankrupt multiple times but kept his fortune by being “too rich to fail”.

Posted by MQ · February 7, 2005 07:29 PM

Let me guess: Friedman got this idea from a cab driver, didn’t he?

But it was a cab driver who, curiously enough, has a turn of phrase just like ol’ Airmiles hisself.

Posted by nick · February 7, 2005 07:43 PM
In keeping with the spirit of the author of this post, let me suggest that each essay contest winner, in addition to being awarded and all-expenses-paid American college education, also gets a pony.

Well, it’s not unheard of for people to get an all-expenses-paid American college education(also ponies, but you get the point).

The more obvious pony joke, I thought, was

Tom Friedman: I sort of like the idea of bin Laden sitting in a dark cave somewhere, composing his latest nutty video message, and suddenly learning that all the reward money we were devoting to killing him will go instead to killing his ideas…
…and also, everybody’s getting a pony.
Posted by mg · February 7, 2005 08:09 PM

Nabakov,
Actually I’m changing my mind and admitting to a hasty conclusion. There is nothing wrong with Hollywood being on the forefront of promoting Democracy.

Posted by jet · February 7, 2005 08:27 PM

jet-
Oh we are in deep trouble, we are.
“Hollywood” is raising its third-and-a-halfth generation of American children. The young adults of its second-and-a-halfth are in Iraq playing video games with human lives.
-
There may be nothing wrong with “Hollywood” promoting “Democracy” in the abstract, but in the concrete real it reminds me of the mass brainwash that’s been used to make tobacco a pariah commodity in middle-class America.
That was accomplished, most successfully, using the same techniques that were applied to the viewing public to get them hooked to begin with. Celebrity endorsements, product placement, and image saturation - spun through the mirror and turned into negative reinforcement exercises.
The bizarre and patently false message being that individual repsonsibility was all that was in play. At the same time subliminal coercion was battering at the entrenched acceptability of smoking. Effectively.
Individual responsibility plus the sleep-tape hypnotics of moral brainwashing being the key there.
My somewhat clearer and much shorter point being - no message comes unattended.
Every public service message, even the most benign, is a commercial for public service messages generally, and for the media and style used to produce it, and for the social context of its makers. “Hollywood” is a commercial for itself, first of all.

Posted by Ajax Bucky · February 7, 2005 10:57 PM

Hi,
The person who thinks that this stupid US government sponsored essay contest with such loaded qustions as Tom Friedman listed, is “such an expression of free speech” that would get one “jailed” in Middle Eastern countries really, really needs to get out more. The essay question is saying, “Give us this idea that we just gave to you, with padding.” That’s not free speech. What if the student took the contrary view as a devil’s advocate? Would he/she get an all expenses paid education in the US just to prove him/her wrong? I thought not. So spare me with the “free speech” jazz.

Posted by Anna in Cairo · February 8, 2005 02:26 PM

I read anna in cario’s blog when it was sponored on blogspots list of blogs of the day. Fascinating virtually running into her again. Great blog btw.

Posted by jet · February 9, 2005 10:17 PM

Actually, it’s a balltearer of an idea. Essay competitions worked GREAT for indoctrinating American POWs in the Chinese gulag. They are a very useful tool for crystallising people’s ideas, helping them get the confidence of what they believe and move them to the ideas of the framer.

Details (such as the putative pony) can make or break of course. But the sneerers comments above obviously haven’t seen how teachers work to inculcate anti-smoking morals in today’s schoolkids.

Posted by ChrisPer · February 11, 2005 09:04 AM
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This discussion has been closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.