A “young nation,” out of excuses, examining attitudes about Americans and the U.S., Carl Zha on Chinese leadership perception of the competency and authority of American leadership over the decade, and experiences with Chinese international students in the U.S. and their civilizational mentality.
“I think the biggest shock to Chinese leadership over the last 10 years is the dawning realization that they had VASTLY overestimated intelligence and compentency of American leadership.” (Carl Zha)
Unfortunately. We have immature, incompetent male leadership and their loyalist followers that got into power who accused Black people in leadership and the working-class across the country as being in their positions only because of DEI yet look at themselves and the choices they make. This administration sees bringing America back, as the rule of the expression of the reckless White imperialist foaming about over nature, embodying the habits that only displace themselves in the modern world. This type is presented as the only authentic face, voice, perspective and expression of my country to the world, but it is not true representation.
The old mentality or attitudes have proven backwards and counterproductive, and can only accelerate cultural, political and social degeneration. They will enjoy their power for now, expressing autocratic ambitions, and perhaps actively scheming by attempting ways to maintain that power on the models of other authoritarian governments.
Already, many years ago, I thought on Chinese leadership and those coming to study here, that I have interacted with, that they do not see America at all through its lens of stereotypes or through the usual perspective with which the American White man approaches the world through the American constructed racial hierarchy. This attitude is typified by those in the Trump Administration with their amateur conservative mentality, which they hide behind hardline policy. I find it surprising that Chinese leadership are now baffled. Japan’s new leadership, e.g., seems to have fallen in line with this administration in contrast to others. There are certain countries that still see the U.S. under Trump as an authority to fear.
Chinese international students come here wanting to learn, and from my observations seemed to detest the typical ethno-chauvinistic attitude of the White man that Trump and his administration embody — not as admirable, but as disgusting, low, barbaric, immature and unintelligent. From the Chinese perspective, we seem an immature and imbecilic People with no philosophy or wisdom that guides us.
Lately, Iran’s Foreign Policy Advisor to the Office of the Supreme Leader, Kamal Kharazi calmly expressed a matured tone against the United States.
“I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore, because Donald Trump has been deceiving others and not keeping his promises.”
KAMAL KHARAZI, IRAN FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR TO THE OFFICE OF THE SUPREME LEADER
Every country should know, as a little over half of the unblinded Americans know, Donald Trump is a deceiving businessman and keeps no promises. If we are immature and lack wisdom as a People or in our leadership, given that our leadership only comes from the People and is not this transcendental entity separate from it, then it is also the duty of other nations to exercise wisdom in their dealings with the U.S. But this issue may be due to the corruption of the global system of foreign affairs and policy itself, not just with the U.S., who bear the brunt of blame.
The main experience I have had with Chinese people has been through foreign students temporarily in the U.S., and I will say, that they do not come to the U.S. to bow and worship White people, or any Americans. They come here to study at our universities, congregate with their people but also with openness to learn from others, and seem to be on a civilizational and diplomatic mission. Many seemed to be searching for something more about the heart of the American expression than its superficial face. When they interacted with me, they saw the American, not ‘an’ American, as their introduction to the American; and this was the same with other people, e.g., Somalians, Moroccans, etc. I am also not the person to brush over the facts and history about my city or country without making it sound too unpleasurable, e.g., the sadness of its segregated neighborhoods and economy as a Chicagoan born on the Southside, as opposed to other majority White-dominated (with their little pickled diversified) areas, sprinkled with a few Black people here or there, with far more resources and businesses.
The only time I saw a White person on the Southside was because of the White Sox games, or major Primary Election seasons. Black communities and neighborhoods in my city and likely many other cities serve for many immigrants in the U.S. as a stepping-stone in the ladder of social and racial hierarchy in this country, where racial, ethnic, economic, ethical and disciplinary attitudes and insecurities are all imported from other countries and blend or conflict with those already here.
The international students I accompanied wanted to learn about the city and country through my experiences, and not the typical fairy-tale and myths that U.S. usually prepares for immigrants.
Instead of foreign-study students that I have interacted with viewing me through the lens of stereotypes like my own countrymen, my interactions with Chinese student colleagues and Muslims from all over the world showed me something much different. They inspired the title ‘The American’ in The American Minervan, which is not an expression of chauvinism or specialness. I want to inspire new culture, new attitude and new thinking. It was their civilizational mindset, that reflected upon my own perspective to see how the American ethnosociology can develop and advance. Learning from within the Muslim community, majority of Muslims, e.g., do not come to this country and merely adapt to the materialist secularism in the popular culture of “eat, drink & be merry.”
The Muslim lives by code, discipline, philosophy, etc. Different from certain American Sinophiles or other Chinese critics of the U.S., e.g., defining Trump as the true embodiment of the United States or the imperialism of the United States, I do not engage in this polemic as an American living within it seeing what is actually contributing to its problems and perceptions abroad that in ways do not help Americans fight these bad influences and choices from our leadership.
Recently, a fellow student had said to me, that maybe I am thinking of these things in an academic way, because people don’t usually care about the philosophy, and think more simply. But I do not think of this from an academic perspective.
Well, my view does not come from my perspective alone and is not mere Sinophilia from a Western perspective. They themselves, in their leadership and history express this attitude. In our times, or from the American perspective, the U.S. government views the world through itself alone, as ruler of the globe. Well, historically, China has viewed itself through such a perspective.
Xi Jinping for years has compared the maturity and philosophy (and the wisdom that comes with age for a nation and people) of China (as working) versus the West (as not working). He instructs and advises the intellectuals and peoples important books for understanding China. This is from my experience and interactions, but it is not purely or simply anecdotal. There is a different civilizational quality of thinking, or about the collective body / movement or destiny of a People for foreign students that will return to China, which we lack outside of the White ethnic-chauvinist attitude. Outside of this attitude, mostly, when the American goes to the other country, one allows the other to shape and mould them more than they are able to “express” a depth “of the People” (of the American). Often, Americans reinforce stereotypes about Americans as selfish, immature people of a young nation.
When one asks the American, “what is the expression of the American people?” with knowledge of history and contexts and traveling across the country, the American should be able to explain the U.S., just for example, by region and provide some heartfelt depth about our struggle as a nation, unity, differences and future hopes. Instead, there is at times some vagueness in describing it. Do we prefer the former, or to be understood through the stereotype combination, e.g., of Cheeseburger/Hotdog, Whiteness (post-WASP), Baseball and Epicurean libertinism?
Again, look at this demeanor of the senior Iranian official. This is the demeanor and attitude of a people who do not fear us and are not playing with us. The world is over this excuse of Americans as “a young nation.” No one is going to hold our hands anymore, respect, or fear us. There have been other, more fearsome Rulers, Empires and Nations throughout history, and the U.S. Empire will not be the last.
There is in the U.S. a degree of civic nationalism, that remains in a superficial and slogan-based stage with the Post-War Liberal, but it lacks depth and reflection of a truly REPUBLICAN-minded degree that needs to be filled and addressed that is different from both American Leftist and White ethnonationalist rationale and attitudes. For things to advance, American civilization must choose consciously, collectively to move to a new phase, beyond the perception of American Civilization as “White Identity” or any particular racial identity or racial quality. The American Right believe they can save this civilization by returning to old thinking and replicating it, but the American is in this position, because of such thinking. Now, it is interesting, that Chinese leadership see this incompetent, chauvinistic bullyism through the Trump Administration. It is seen by others as the true embodiment of the U.S., as Dugin said recently. This attitude is advantageous to anti-American rhetoric, but it helps nobody. They are not a true embodiment of this country. Is the true embodiment of your country “authoritarian evil regime?” This type of propaganda always works both ways.
Our attitude towards China, Russia and Iran should not be to beat them, out-race (compete against) them, to the point that we are copying them, or their moves. We have lost the plot, and to recollect ourselves in the game of civilizations takes introspection, as opposed to throwing out all of our inner shadows onto the world, whether we speak of U.S. citizens, or the political, business, financial and technocrat class. I have done introspection, and my writings are the result of this introspection.
The American Minervan 
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