Expanding Asian facets to U.S.

This is the first of a two-part article on interaction between Asian and American cultures.

By Willem F. Wanrooy

LANCESTER, California, USA (JP): Long a traditional bedrock subject in American schools, history today is in bad trouble. American students have little or no knowledge of the history of their own country or of any other country. Adults and students alike have little understanding of non-Western lands especially.

American politicians, bureaucrats and many intellectuals have no concept of relating the relevance of the historical experiences of other civilizations -- China and Japan, for example -- to those of America.

Yes, history is vast and insightful analogies are limitless, and history at this depth of understanding is the rightful domain of the specialist. However, Americans must acquire at least some understanding of some of the great historical streams of other civilizations.

Yet, this idea of 'knowing' seems never to have occurred to elected officials in government, who are newly raised to positions of responsibility, or to the average voter.

The truth is that Asia can no longer afford American political leaders who are naive and must learn about Asian history through trial and error on the job. Nor is it safe to have an American voting public which has little concept of U.S.-Asia relations.

The community of economic, political and cultural cooperation between North America and Asian countries is based on shared attitudes and interests.

This cooperation is imperative for the survival of both Asia and the U.S.

Also, the historical streams connecting the two should be considered a key ingredient for acquiring and disseminating knowledge about a society. Social sciences and the humanities -- philosophy, religion, literature, art -- provide important ways of understanding other cultures, provided they fit into a meaningful, historical whole.

The misreading of Asian history by Americans can obviously lead to egregious errors, while Asians could feel the backlash.

Should we in Asia then become the ones to teach Asian history to Americans -- to familiarize them with Asian cultures?

Yes, we should! It is in Asia's own interest.

We can daily notice the backlash Asians experience because of American ignorance of Asia.

The lessons and teachings should be parochial. Asian nations should relate each nation's experiences in context with other Asian countries and mankind as a whole. The historical experiences of other civilizations have in them as much relevance to 'us' Asians today as our own.

Thus far there have been two predominant one-way streams of information projected at Asia: a) a global debate concerning Asian concepts from a Western viewpoint and, b) facets of Western culture.

Supported by massive amounts of capital the Western media continue to dominate mass communications with their tentacles spread worldwide. Asians are daily bombarded with massive amounts of information pertaining to Western ideas and ideals.

I have personally walked the streets of Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, and other cities and have not been able to 'get away' from American news in the way of magazines and newspapers, and television.

I have also walked the streets of New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many others and I have not seen any Asian publication for sale at newsstands.

This massive, one-way communication flow has to be changed into a two-way street. Asia has to exercise influence on American opinion. It has to educate and familiarize and influence the thinking of thinkers, legislators and opinion formulators.

This should not be done in the American way of "lobbying", but it should be done -- in my personal, strong opinion -- in a manner of education and familiarization of Asian values and mores.

Lu Jing Fei's book, A New Appreciation of the Essays by Eight Masters of the Tang and Sung Dynasties, is an exquisite example of introducing "Chineseness" in the areas of politics, society, literature and letters. In a series of essays, various facets of Chinese culture are described and brought to the foreground, offering excellent insights into Chinese society.

Kayanto Shigeru describes eloquently the culture of a small group of people on Hokkaido Island (Japan) in his Our Land Was A Forest.

The Malaysian Lat tells in prose and drawing about rural life in his country -- the heart and soul of village life.

The most notable quality in these works is that they are authored and illustrated by Asians, presenting a view of life in Asia from an Asian perspective and not from a casual Western traveler's viewpoint.

I am not insinuating that these books should be sold by the hundred of thousands in America. I am basically referring to 'content theme' of the messages.

This process of 'educational' information may initially encounter some obstacles. Asia's traditional reticence and modesty as well as a desire to refrain from boasting come to mind. As Confucius taught: "The superior man is ashamed that his words exceeds his deeds".

Thus far, however, Asia's deeds have extensively surpassed its words. Asia is a success story and it is time to speak up as another anachronism.

Window: This massive, one-way communication flow has to be changed into a two-way street. Asia has to exercise influence on American opinion.