My Malaise Speech
America spends more money on its military than any other country, and a larger ratio of its GDP on its military relative to its allies and other countries with comparable standards of living (save for KSA). Its weapons expenditure accounts for 40% of the global arms trade. The U.S. has more military bases than actual countries, on all populated continents. It polices the world, for good and ill. And it has a level of power Islamists dearly wish the Umma had.
With the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century, the failure of Muslim states post-European colonialism (except Turkey, Singapore and Malaysia), and lack of a Caliphate or credible leader of the faithful, especially for the Sunni majority, many Muslims in the world feel humiliated by this imbalance of power, even when the U.S. military isn’t actually occupying their own lands. Many innocent Muslims have also been victims of bad American foreign policies and unwarranted aggression, not to mention those who have lived under dictatorships allied with America. And of course, there is the resentment caused by America’s support of Israel, the official or unofficial enemy of Muslim states.
More Americans need to take this reality seriously, particularly those who make foreign policy assessments and decisions.
***
I was against the Iraq war (particularly the second one) from the beginning. Not because I care only about America’s interest, but also based on what’s good for Iraqis. I don’t believe all examples of American military intervention in the world are benign or justified. However, not all military actions are just imperial hubris either.
To see an example of American ethnocentricism, look at an isolationist like Michael Scheuer, former top level member of the CIA, who thinks America should either turn hostile countries into rubble with the full force of the U.S. military, or just completely ignore them. He thinks Americans should not care about non-Americans, especially if they have nothing to offer Americans in terms of economic advancement. Only American lives matter to him. It’s a form of patriotism that holds that if it doesn’t directly impact my fellow citizens and me, it’s out of sight, out of mind. Who cares if, say, there’s a preventable genocides happening within another nation-state (especially if it has no oil or other important resources)?
Sure, liberal do-goodism in foreign policy can really have terrible consequences – the best intentions go to hell with misguided, misinformed assessments. Robert McNamara was one of the most honest ones to admit that, years after the Vietnam tragedy. Unwarranted interference and intervention in other countries, whether based on selfish or altruistic reasons, is bad. I say this as a liberal.
But the worldview of rightwing nationalism is inherently pathological, and American “isolationalism” can turn to aggression on a dime, given the right circumstances. Indeed, it’s this isolationist mentality that is preventing the emergence of a genuinely cooperative, peaceful global civilization in which separate states work together for the well-being of all.
***
I’ve been told that I must not “understand the concerns” of Mullahs and the military establishment in Pakistan. Yes, I do. I just don’t share most of them.
There is a serious problem with Pakistani society. And no, this is not “blaming the poor.” I hate it when educated Pakistanis blame the uneducated for the problems in the country. For the most part, I give the poor a free pass – they really are victims of a very unjust system. Pakistani’s problems are not just the fault of the ambitious middle class either (I’m from the middle class myself, so I understand it), even though it does tend to be the most conservative and rightwing sector of this society. Much of the blame should go to the rich and well-educated, especially the economic and political powerhouse Ayesha Siddiqa rightly calls “Military Inc.”
Objectively, we can look at the faults of Pakistan’s feudal-like system, for lack of a better description. It’s hierarchical and closed, breeding thaana culture, corruption, nepotism, etc. But there’s also a rise in egoism.
By egoism, I mean the lack of conscientiousness and lack of honesty found not just on the macro-level (in government, or in other institutions), but on the micro-level. You can see it in every day interactions.
There is a culture of finger-pointing, largely because people are obsessed with preserving honor and avoiding shame. When was the last time you heard anyone around you say: “you know what, I messed up, I’m sorry, I’ll learn from my mistake”? In my experience, this hardly ever happens, mainly because it’s considered a sign of “weakness.”
By admitting mistakes, I don’t mean those who just say “yes, yes” when the boss (or parent, teacher, etc.) yells at the subordinate, or when the servant (or “help”) shows obeisance towards the owner of the house. That’s just pleasing authority. It’s considered normal in Pakistan to lie about what you’ve done or not done and to do whatever it takes to look good, even if it means scapegoating innocent people. The justice (or, injustice) system reflects that, as does the political culture, and even workplace culture.
When this egoism translates into thinking about national or international issues, you get this type of discourse: Pakistan is innocent, and even if it does have structural flaws, it’s only the fault of outside powers.
Meanwhile, the problems continue (and with this attitude, it’s doubtful anything would change if Pakistan were completely isolated from all the nefarious “foreign powers”).
In this context, it makes perfect sense why a person like Imran Khan is popular. He is disciplined and has a strong work ethic, which comes from his athletic background, and he lionizes the military establishment, which is idolized for its disciplined soldiers (not that the generals aren’t as corrupt, greedy, and Machiavellian as any civilian politician, mind you, but that’s another story). The military is the only institution that can seem to get stuff done, and efficiently too (well, not all things, but I won’t go there).
And he boosts national pride, advocating self-reliance and focusing most of his anger at America.
But people like Imran Khan are intellectually lazy. It’s the same egoism. Objective thinking towards one’s own society isn’t just pointing out all the individual traitors and fifth columns. (Much of the obsession with corrupt civilian politicians is really anger at politicians for not being Islamically correct; the real target are the inherently evil Crusader-Zionists out to undermine the moral purity of Pakistan).
“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” – Einstein
Post-conventional moral reasoning challenges national prejudices. It requires a level of objectivity – by examining one’s own nation-state and civilization – that openly admits any injustices done to the “other” and bigotry towards non-group members (e.g. non-Muslims, non-Pakistanis, non whatever ethnic group you are). Many people just won’t do such an analysis, any more than unconscientious people don’t like to introspect, blame themselves, and take responsibility for their actions. It threatens their identity, self-image, and sense of superiority.
For Pakistan to have a just, genuinely democratic society, at peace with its neighbors, the changes must be cultural as well as structural. Its best, brightest, most sensitive and open-minded citizens often simply get up and move to more tolerant and just societies where they can have a better life. The good ones left behind are burdened with picking up the slack, and must raise the level of national discourse.
And yes, I am preaching. I’ve earned that right. I’ve lived here for five years, and the fate of both America and Pakistan are intertwined at this point in history. I’ve spent a good chunk of time scrutinizing and criticizing the ways in which my country has done wrong in this relationship.
A historian who is a Holocaust-denier would not be taken seriously by any respectable university in Europe or America, and for good reason. Yet, a professor of International Relations at National Defence University, one of the best schools in Pakistan, refers to the Bangladesh genocide, one of the biggest genocides in history, as a “baseless accusation.”
As much as Pakistan, like many developing countries, has monetary problems, budget deficits, food shortages, inefficient/unaccountable institutions, and extreme poverty, this country is also seriously lacking in conversational honesty.
Consider this my malaise speech for Pakistan.
