The State of World Cultures: Reflections on US Presidential Elections 2012

by Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai

American presidential campaign is in top gear.The content of the social and cultural lives of a people define, to a large extent, the level of their civilization. American democracy is unique. It is open, intense but under control.

World cultures are in need of urgent, sacramental salvage. The militarism of contemporary world politics, leads to a decline in cultural development.
In my global travels, I have evidence of monumental cultural decay. Whether, it is music, talk-shows, drama, entertainment, political dialogues, journalism and commentaries, a lot of crudity abound.

The obvious lack of cultural sophistication is self-evident in world geo-politics. Henry Kissinger once said that “power is the best aphrodisiac”. This reinforced the power politics affirmations of Clausewitz.
Joseph Stalin was callous enough to say that “one murder makes a villain- millions make a hero”.

In his presentation of his foreign policy, the Republican presidential candidate has consistently used harsh words to define his attitude to Russia and China.

Does Mitt Romney know how much America owes China? A debtor and his benefactor, stand on a footing of manifest inequality. Also, a geo-political grandstanding with Russia is both unnecessary and unwarranted. Those Romney statements need toning down. A new Chinese leadership will take over Chinese affairs next year. We do not want Sino-American relations to get to a bad start.

What should concern the United States Government now, is how to deal with the growing culture of negative financial inequity, the ethics of bankruptcy, regulation of the financial services, banks lending practices, churning, twisting and flipping ethics and financial markets, if America is to remain capitalist, buoyant and prosperous, otherwise the “Occupy Wall Street“movement will continue its campaign against the culture of philosophical financial ethics impasse.

Which party is better placed to initiate social policies that would guarantee industrial democracy, like equal pay for the same type of work, more leave period for the working people through legislation, equal access to employment and industrial democracy?

By what magical conjuration do American commentators verify the indexes of social mobility? There is a copy-cat culture in which everybody regurgitates what opinion manipulators have put out..
For example, there was and there is NO ARAB SPRING, what had happened was a bloody revolt against autocracy, ancient, retrogressive power structure that was mounted on status of birth, aristocracy, placement in military and intelligence outfits, nearness to the power base, without consideration for other social groups.Where is the spring?

There is something at once banal and irritating in the analysis of the presidential debates in America, where form is rated higher than substance. What have smiles, belligerent mien and fast-talking got to do with reasoned judgments and logical argumentations?

“The thoughtless are rarely wordless’, said George Bernard Shaw. A bore is a person, who talks, when you want him to listen, they say.So, what is the joy about? He, who talks much does little.

Recently, after the barking, verbal presidential debate, commentators were impressed by the quarrelsome style of one of the presidential aspirants. The test of a person’s character is how he behaves during a contest.
In my experience to resort to fast-talk is to bully the argument. If one does not have a logical frame-work for reasoned argument, the debater then resorts to fast-talk and offensive argumentation, which in many cases, lack specifics and logical coherence.

The civil debater is often regarded as weak. This is an ignorant assertion
I was surprised that the media approved the Hitlerism notion that “strength lies not in defence but in attack.” When has a presidential debate about a nation’s forward march become a forum for hard attitudes in order to please the media?

There is a discernible cultural decline in presidential etiquette and decorum, which has had disastrous consequences on diplomatic dialogue in the last ten years.

Shouting during a debate, may reveal later that the person was speaking half of the truth.

I am amazed at the level of logical reasoning amongst some American commentators, who applaud the fellow that does only talking without in-depth prescriptions. By the time the entertainment is over, we find that we have been sold a dummy.

The United States is a democracy that needs to entrench a social welfare culture, which will enable the US to strengthen its social fabric, in tune with the requirements of social justice and equity, in a world, where people are now very cautious of their rights.

Social welfare programmes like medi-care, social insurance, education, job-training, should no longer be the subject of debate in any state. Their reverent implementation signifies that states respect the relevant United Nations on human rights and humanitarian laws, in existence since 1948.
There is need to regulate general provisions in US labour laws, concerning protection of wage contracts of employment and terms and conditions of employment.

These are obviously social problems that concern everyday people in America, rather than, who can prop up ancient regimes around the world. It often very painful to watch the ingratitude of those states, where American soldiers have died.

America must retain its bargaining financial power in world markets. A radical reduction in those money-guzzling, world evangelist enterprises must be considered of utmost national revival importance.

Moving to other climes, there is a decline in the quality of leadership occasioned by misfits occupying lofty, political positions, for which they do not have the relevant educational, training and experience.
Their lack of relevant knowledge, leads to lack of confidence, shifting eyes, a bovine stare and hanging lip, painting a miserable cultural decadent image of authority.

The feral under-class in Europe, whom I interacted with last summer in London during the Olympics, looked famished, forlorn and hopeless. There is lack of evidence of cultural habits, which are usually acquired through formal education, social engineering or intuition.

In today’s world, everything is turning around lies, fabrications, slanted reportings,the use of hyperboles, grandiloquent musings, unbalanced commentaries, which aid and abet the culture of violence among nations.

We need to hand the world back to its Creator, JEHOVAH ADONAI. The failure of man-made gods has created a culture of violence, unsurpassed in human history.

Americans will choose their leader, not pollsters, pundits, romanticists and soothsayers.

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1 comment

Okey Onwuka October 20, 2012 - 6:19 am

I am Mr Okey Onwuka, an admirer of erudite Professor Esiemokhai;s writings since 2007. I rate this piece excellent.

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