Essay 3 Final Version

[Adrienne C]

Adrienne C
English 101- Section #0459
Instructor: O’Connell

Outsiders

In his book, Are We Rome? Cullen Murphy artfully presents the topic of
America and Rome’s view of self in Chapter 4, which is fittingly
entitled, “The Outsiders.” Murphy begins this chapter by referencing
the historical Teutoburg Forest event in which 3 legions that had been
commanded by Publius Quinctillus Varus (Roman general under Emperor
Augustus) were tricked by the Germans and suffered a humiliating
defeat in battle, resulting in the death of 30,000 people. Murphy
alludes that this defeat could be the result of the Roman view of
itself as superior and indestructible. Murphy further illustrates this
point by expressing that it was unbelievable to the Romans that they
could be defeated by so called ‘barbarians.’ He states that, “even if
evidence of barbarian technological skill and organizational precocity
had been presented in advance…Roman officials would not have been
receptive.” (Murphy, 2007) This type of viewpoint is a bit scary
because we can see how it somewhat parallels America’s view of itself
prior to the 911 tragedy. We felt indestructible and superior, and
would never have imagined that we could be attacked, especially within
our own borders. We underestimate others and can get caught up in our
own reverie just like Antony did with Cleopatra, according to
Shakespeare’s version of the tale. Here we have a Roman general
renowned for his acumen and skill in battle, running around with an
Egyptian Queen and imbibing booze, while his wife has started a war
and some of his soldiers are beginning to question his ability as a
leader. In this paper, I will cover the perceptions of America and
Rome and show how both nations harbor views of self that depicts
arrogance and superiority, and how this type of viewpoint can cause
harm or even death when left unchecked.
Murphy rightly points out that, “One notable constant in American
history is our lack of awareness of the rest of the world- or if we
are aware, our indifference as to whether we’ve got the world
right.” (Murphy, 2007) Underestimating the power of other nations has
been a trap for both Rome and America. A prime example of this is our
increased outsourcing of jobs to other countries. Rome outsourced some
of its military functions by allowing Egyptian soldiers to act as
purveyors and enforcers of Roman rule. While there were advantages to
having an Egyptian in this type of role, the obvious disadvantages
were the underlying threat treason and mutiny.
In America, there are many who feel that outsourcing is a good
practice, and that American businesses are taking advantage of so
called cheap foreign labor so that they can see an immediate increase
in profits. What may not be considered is that by outsourcing American
jobs, they are increasing another country’s GNP and lowering our own.
Did it ever occur to anyone that we could be helping other countries
amass power and decreasing of own? Are we too busy feeling superior to
even fathom that a 3rd world country could pose an economic or any
other type of threat to America? The answer is possibly yes. The
exportation of jobs is already affecting our ability to groom and
train US professionals for advanced positions. To illustrate this
point, the 110th Congress had issued the Technology Retraining and
Investment Now Act for the 21st Century (Bill HR 244, Jan 2007) in an
attempt to stimulate U.S. personnel training by offering a tax credit
to corporations and business owners (since they seemed to be motivated
by financial gain). Unfortunately, there were no co-sponsors to get
the bill passed. The lack of positive response to this bill could be
compared to Antony’s behavior when he ignored the messenger who was
sent to tell him of Fulvia’s death. This message should have stirred
him into immediate action, but instead he remained somewhat passive
even though he knew that the welfare of his country was being
threatened.
This type of passivity and being out of touch has continued to affect
our nation until this very moment. Our troops are still fighting a so
called war, even though no one can really see the value in them being
over there at this point. We’ve spent billions of dollars financing a
war and trying to play Globo-cop while our own nation is suffering.
At the same time, how we got to this point is highly understandable.
Our delusions of grandeur are rightly founded. We are America, the
‘land of the free and home of the brave.’ People have migrated from
far lands to taste our freedom and sample a piece of the American pie.
Foreigners, I mean “outsiders”, have deluged are borders for decades,
and who can blame them? Even those who can’t make it here try to mimic
our culture in some way. The Mc Donaldization and Cokeification of the
world are only the tip of the iceberg. American music, American style,
and American ideals have permeated cultures all over the world. So it
is quite easy to think of America as being highly influential.
Likewise, the Romans possessed a sense of ‘exceptionalism’ because
they had conquered many seemingly great nations. Murphy quotes,
“Spaniards had the advantage over them in point of numbers, Gauls in
physical strength, Carthaginians in sharpness, Greeks in culture,
native Latins and Italians in shrewd commons sense; yet Rome had
conquered them all and acquired her vast empire because in piety,
religion and appreciation of the omnipresence of the gods she was
without equal.” No wonder they felt superior and invincible.
It’s the same with America. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how a
little pride and arrogance could set in. Murphy says that we use
ourselves as the meter by which we judge other nations: “Americans
tend to see others as being more or less like ourselves; it’s the
default presumption. Or at least other people would be like us if only
certain cultural impediments and institutional restraints were
removed. Human nature, in other words, is basically American.”
Americans We set the tone for how things should be globally. Or, at
least we used to.
But when exactly do we learn from our mistakes and correct our view of
self in order garner a more balanced and healthy vantage point?
Afterall, we do have a few skeletons in our closet regarding the
underestimation of other nations. Remember Pearl Harbor? Similarly,
the movie Spartacus points out how Crassus underestimated the capacity
of the Parthians whose horsemen were superior to that of the Romans.
They were able to deliver what later came to be known as a “Parthian
Shot,” the ability to shoot arrows at enemies approaching behind them
while in motion. Likewise, poor Antony had such a high view of himself
as a leader in Rome that he failed to realize that he had given over
his power to Cleopatra. Even Caesar had the wherewithal to acknowledge
this point when he said, “Unto her he gave the establishment of Egypt,
made her of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia, absolute Queen.” (Shakespeare,
W. and Bevington, David,1988)
I must admit that I am proud to be a part of a nation that is
considered to be #1, so to speak. But, as I’ve been pointing out
through this paper, there is also a downside to being the so called
leader of the free world. Sometimes when a nation advances to a
certain point, it can fall on its own sword. Rome, for its time, was
considered to advanced communications and military intelligence, but
the information suffered from time delays. Likewise, America is also
considered to be advanced with communications and intelligence, yet
like the Romans, it suffers from the same time lag. This wrench in out
national security system makes me nervous. We can no longer afford to
be arrogant when our nation’s security is at risk. On Sunday, December
7, 2008, The New York Times’ Opinion section published an article
entitled “Deluder In Chief,” which criticized the Bush Administration
by alleging that the “national security team should have known the
intelligence to be faulty and that pressures from the White House led
to particular conclusions.” The author of this article expresses
disappointment in George Bushs’ failure to acknowledge his many
mistakes and the epic proportions of the big mess he’s leaving for his
successor and the American people. Obviously, this article struck a
nerve in Washington, and resulted in a reply from the Whitehouse. On
December 8, 2008, National Security advisor Stephen Hadley issued a
press release statement in response to the New York Times article
stating that, “There is no support for the New York Times’ claims. As
the President has stated, he regrets the intelligence was wrong, but
it was intelligence that members of Congress, foreign governments as
well as the Administration all believed to be accurate. Working with
Congress, the President has since put in place a number of
intelligence reform measures to try to ensure that such mistakes do
not happen again.” With empathy towards our President, I understand
that we did try to enhance our security early on by allowing the
passing of the USA Patriot Act (HR 3162). This bill was passed on
October 26, 2001 and stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism Act of 2001." Unfortunately, this measure raised a red flag.
Although this controversial Act was passed to increase our intel
power, many felt it was just an excuse for the government to abuse
civil liberties and the privacy of US citizens.
Overall, I’d say that the seemingly misplaced superior self-view of
America is not ill-intentioned. Afterall, even with all of our drama,
failures and weaknesses, I still feel it’s the best place on earth to
be. Hopefully, the next and new generation of Americans will take heed
and learn the lessons that can be garnered by taking an objective look
at the history of Rome, the chronicles of other nations, and most of
all, our own history. Hopefully, this exercise will help us to form
and maintain a balanced view of self.

References

Murphy, C. (2007). Are We Rome? The fall of an Empire and the fate of
America. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Shakespeare, W. and Bevington, David (Ed.). (1988). Antony and
Cleopatra. New York, New York: Bantam Books.

Weller, Rep. Jerry, H.R.244. EH, Technology Retraining and Investment
Now Act for the 21st Century, Congressional Bill

Boyle, Danny, 2008, Dec. 7, New York, The deluder in chief. New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07sun2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=deluder%20in%20chief&st=cse

Hadley, Stephen, 2008 Dec. 8, Statement by national security advisor.
Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081208.html