By Sheldon Greaves
If you’ve been to college, you have probably taken a course called “Western Civilization” or “Western Civ” for short. It was probably a required course, which means you did all you could to get through it quickly and with minimal effort. Required classes are like that. But Western Civ entered the college curriculum for a very good reason, and that same reasoning should drive adding a new course to the undergraduate curriculum, one that covers the history and civilizations of the East; China, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and so on.
Why Western Civ?
Western Civilization classes grew out of the realization among American intellectuals during and shortly after World War I that most Americans couldn’t find France or Germany on a map, let alone Belgium, and Sarajevo? Yeah, right. Sadly, this is still depressingly true. But what the intellectual movers and shakers of the time understood–correctly as it turned out–was that America would continue to be involved in future conflicts in Western Europe. So, they created a new course designed to help Americans understand the territory. It was also a good way to explore the roots of many American institutions.
The original reasons for teaching the history, literature, art, and other cultural and scientific achievements of the West may have been lost; I doubt many Western Civ instructors know the roots of the course they teach. But it is still a valuable class because it has evolved into a rapid tour of some very notable thinking and ideas. Of all the things one can do with one’s life, adding to or maintaining the common reservoir of ideas is an excellent choice.
Why Eastern Civ?
Whether we wish to admit it or not, a state of conflict exists between East and West. Between the maniacs of ISIS, the manipulations of Kim Jong Un, the machinations of China, and the malevolence of Vladimir Putin, we are all but at war with much of the East. Then there are the corrupt, feckless players like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, and the open, bleeding sores like Yemen and Afghanistan. On the other hand, India is, for the most part, a reliable ally. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, has been an unsung hero in blunting the spread of radical Islamism. Japan and South Korea have also proven to be capable allies and might remain so if Trump can keep from permanently offending them.
A lack of understanding about the East has hobbled American policy in the past. An example: after 9/11, we demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden. The Taliban demured on the grounds that he was a “guest” in their country. President Bush, being clueless, dismissed this as a cynical excuse, which it no doubt was at some level. But it was also a difficult dilemma for the Taliban. The institutions of hospitality to the stranger found among the ancient Bedouin Arabs became a large part of Muslim ethics. These rules admit few exceptions. The guest is sacrosanct. One Arab saying has it that you will offer shelter to the traveler, “even to your father’s murderer.”
It was pretty clear that the Taliban did not want bin Laden around. His antics had led directly to their loss of power in Afghanistan. But, they could not have simply handed him over to the Americans without suffering significant political and social damage. Even bin Laden’s detractors would have had misgivings. Of course, there were thousands of government officials who had experience in Afghanistan and knew this, but Bush was not known for being well-informed or desirous to become so. Perhaps with a more sophisticated approach, we might have made an arrangement that offered the Taliban a way out of their dilemma, but still served the purposes of justice.
A study of eastern cultures will reveal right away that they do not think the way we do. Further study will suggest that they understand us better than we understand them. For purposes of navigating conflict, this puts us at a distinct disadvantage. The current President has been consistently played, over and over by hostile eastern leaders, to our national detriment. His infamous Muslim travel ban has also degraded our national security. Some of the best advice one might offer to our citizenry (since the Executive Branch appears immune to such things) is from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War:
“Know your enemy as you know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will know no peril.”