Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism By Pascal Bruckner (Princeton University Press, 256 pages, $26.95)
The problem with us rugged individualists is we are hard ones for collective guilt. Maybe our forefathers did some pretty awful things -- who hasn't? -- but that's between them and their gods. All we ask is you leave us out of it. We may have inherited their genes, but not their sins. And certainly not their money -- not that mine had any.
America, being the land of rugged individualists, is an especially irksome place to the eternally guilt-ridden European. Because we stubbornly refuse to sackcloth and ashes, we can never experience the "comfort of redemption." Not a problem. We'll get by with the comfort of beer and television.
This explains why there is so much anti-Americanism "over there." The haters hate us because their ancestors produced fascism, communism, genocide, slavery and imperialism and they feel like hell about it. Then they see us happily going about our business and they demand we stop acting so innocent and smug. They throw the Trail of Tears up to us. Jim Crow. McCarthyism. We remind them that we saved their butts in two world wars, and they hate us even more. They get rankled when we speak up (or worse, do something) about genocide and human rights in the lands of the oppressed, when, as every "guilt peddler" knows, we should be flagellating ourselves and seeking repentance.
Since the West has pleaded guilty to all charges and then some, we naturally cannot be trusted to do the right thing, or even know what the right thing is. That was Germany's excuse to stand idly by during the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, and it will be Germany's excuse for the next hundred years. "Our past crimes command us to keep our mouths closed," writes novelist Pascal Bruckner in his engaging new book-length essay. We dare not speak out lest we open ourselves to charges of hypocrisy by every tin-pot dictator or terrorist leader. How dare we condemn bin Laden when Custer massacred the Sioux? Oh, wait, the Sioux massacred Custer. You get the point.
This kind of fuzzy thinking is freely on tap in Western Europe and in the current White House. "From existentialism to deconstructionism, all of modern thought can be reduced to a mechanical denunciation of the West, emphasizing the latter's hypocrisy, violence and abomination," Bruckner writes. It was a conceit that reached its peak in 2001 when so many Western intellectuals praised the Twin Tower attacks as America's comeuppance, when the oppressed finally struck back.
This faux remorse is actually a ragged disguise masking feelings of moral superiority. We have become our parents and the rest of the developing world is our naughty kids whose misdeeds can be blamed on their parents' sins (colonialism and racism). No wonder their development remains stunted.
Our historical guilt has now gone to such absurd extremes that it threatens basic liberties like free speech. In one example, Bruckner argues our unwillingness to offend Islam means the death of religious satire. At least religious satire of Islam. (Though I suspect episodes like Comedy Central's censoring of South Park was an instance of fear and cowardice, not political correctness.)
THIS COLLECTIVE historical guilt is puerile and destructive, Bruckner writes. Our good deeds vastly outweigh our bad. "There is no doubt that Europe has given birth to monsters, but at the same time it has given birth to theories that make it possible to understand and destroy these monsters." No culture has been without sin, therefore none of us should be pointing fingers or throwing stones. But if, god forbid, somebody does start throwing stones -- or bombs -- some one needs to have the moral courage to put an end to it.
Europeans were once as proud of their heroes and traditions as Americans. Today they are uncomfortable honoring anyone save Gandhi or Mandela. But the West has a lot to celebrate, writes Bruckner, everything that falls under the general heading of Western Civilization: Democracy, the rule of law, human rights and equality, for starters.
Every once in a while I like to pick up a book heavy with ideas. Often, with French philosophers, the going is rough and seldom worth the effort. Most like to conceal their lack of ideas amidst a jungle of vapid and opaque prose. Bruckner's Essay on Western Masochism is, happily, the exception. He is a true individualist and his prose is clear and consequential, and you don't have to be a masochist to read him.
Letter to the Editor
Christopher Orlet writes from Belleville, Illinois.
having lived in Europe off and on for a number of years I have endured much faux moralizing on the subject of "Amerika". the perfect antidote (and will stop any dinner party conversation dead) is to propose the following question: Based on just the events of the 20th century, what gives Europe (and by extension Europeans) the moral standing to judge anyone? while the jaws are still on the table (because as an American you are supposed to fulfill your role as the loud yet polite doofus at the table) you recite a short litany of crimes against humanity that were inspired and committed by Europeans against fellow Europeans. the topic changes quickly for no one dare engage in a debate that they will of course lose and worse still they might have to actually conduct introspection on the complicity of their country(s) role in a number of evil events. Separate water fountains in the south in the 50s - is answered by the Wansee Convention, etc. etc.
America is the City on the Hill.
We have nothing to be ashamed of.
That's not what Mencken thought.
While living in Europe, I would wear a small US flag pin on the collar of my suit jacket. This was a sure way to engender "conversation", mainly from Europeans and others in attendance. Generally, the "attack" presented was "we hate George W. Bush but we love America". I guess this was designed to limit a response and only address Iraq. As noted in the article, the easiest way to change the tone of the criticism was to direct it toward Europe. The cocktail was finished quickly and they had to "move on". My two daughters attended a "international school", a number of times I went to the school to stop teachers from the practice of having a daughter defend the foreign policy of the USA, both at the grammar and high school levels. In most cases, they were the only "Americans" in their respective classe and it was the teacher (usually a Brit) who set himself and the students against one of their classmates. As the grand scheme of a European Union begins to eclipse, it is much easier to look abroad to direct your criticism than address your own (European) problems. Actually, "I like Europeans, it is their hypocrisy I hate."
i suspect my son went to the same "international school" as your daughter. what used to shock me was how fast many (not all) american ex-pats would go all "quisling" in the face of their perceived British betters. while i loved my time in the UK I was struck by how intolerant and feckless my host country was. prior to the current mayor of london (who is pretty feckless) we had a nasty piece of work who thought nothing of hosting wingnut Imams from Egypt who wrote books on the correct (Islamic) way to beat your wife properly and the best "way" to deal with the homosexual problem. but try and support a Boy Scout troop at the school and cries of homophobia would be raised. savage irony as Dr. Thompson would say.
Our ancestors, for the most part, were their ancestors too. They were just smart enough to get out of there before the descents into the maelstrom occurred.
The second sentence above is a bit awkward. It should say that "Our" ancestors were smart enough to leave Europe before the descents started.
And thus enlarged our gene pool, as well as our personal space.
Ever notice how Euglish stand so close? I always feel trapped or smothered. They don't get wide open spaces...or all the trees.
When my parents proposed a sightseeing trip to Europe in 1956,My Grandfather spit on the floor.He couldn't see why anyone would want to go back to that aweful place. He was glad to leave (he left before the end of the 19thcentury) and never looked back. Those who stayed,stayed poor and were then turned into soap. THANK GOD FOR AMERICA!
RONP123! Qusilings Indeed. Do not cause a conversation that might become argumentative, we do not want to offend anyone with our viewpoints that they may not agree with. Austrian Scenario: Opening Day: Little League-High School Level Baseball. US Ambassador/Austrian Officials, as they fielded two teams. National Anthems played while the Vienna police were out in force ticketing all the cars that were parked illegally early on a Saturday morning: No US Embassy response. US Marines (Security Detail at Embassy) downtown Vienna at a reptutable bar/night club. Turkish thugs invade, knock down Austrian security men and attack the US Marines. Marines held there own until police arrived. US Ambassador: restricts the involved Marines to barracks for 30 days! Just snapshots....
This book is a companion piece to Bruckner's earlier book, Tears Of The White Man, another devastatingly cogent critique of Western guilt. His analysis is from the French point of view, so for the typical American, it requires a small adjustment, but not much. The French political philosophers, Bruckner included, are very interesting and often hit the nail on the head, particularly with regard to the European approach to the international culture wars.
The most intellectually rewarding insight I've gained from reading Bruckner's books is the idea that Western guilt is an expression of lingering imperialism and Western notions of racial superiority masked as compassion.
must be my Scots-Irish heritage, but I haven't one bit of sympathy, empathy or any other type "pathy" for that decadent european culture. If those countries had a pair, then we wouldn't have so much trouble with those pesky little malcontented moslems with the huge inferiority complex.
Guilt Gone Wild links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
In 2005 after the US invasion of Iraq, I was the first American technical consultant to work for a very earnest and devoutly socialist French NGO in Afghanistan. My job was to develop agriculture businesses such as profitable fruit tree nurseries, fruit marketing, contract vegetable production; you know - business. These young French statists put up with my market driven harangues for a month; "No subsidies, demand driven, let the losers fail, sell them the tools and leave them alone..." late into the night as they drank thick Nescafe and rolled Drum cigarettes. Then, on our last night together, I said over a nice dinner, "Ok, you have listened politely to me for a month. Now I will be quiet, and I will not be offended, tell me what you think of America. And remember, I LOVE AMERICA, and not only that, I like George Bush." ...
Read Full Article »