Note from White House Advisor Shows Cultural-value Hegemony?

Thursday, June 4, 2009
Text: Note from White House advisor shows cultural-value hegemony?
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

When an American asserts that everyone in the world "simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives" that is pretty insulting.
No national aspirations? No willingness within society to make sacrifices in order to serve the interests and goals of that society?
Is the entire world motivated solely by an interest in improving per capita GNP?
This is nothing less than American cultural-value hegemony.
And it goes far beyond being insulting.
It is dangerous for policy makers to refuse to appreciate and understand the very real cultural differences that exist in our world.
Serious businessmen learn all they can about cultural differences before traveling overseas.
But it sounds like the White House policymakers make the dangerously lazy simplifying assumption that everyone is the same.

From: David Axelrod,
The White House
To: imra@netvision.net.il
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 7:02 PM
Subject: A New Beginning -- Watch the President's Speech

Hello -
As a Senior Advisor to the President, I'm here in Cairo, Egypt where I watched President Obama deliver an unprecedented speech calling for a new beginning for the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
We all know that there has been tension between the United States and some Muslim communities. But, as the President said this morning, if all sides face the sources of tension squarely and focus on mutual interests, we can find a new way forward.
The President outlined some big goals for this new beginning in his speech -- including disrupting, dismantling, and defeating violent extremism. It was a historic speech, and since many Americans were asleep at the time it was given we wanted to make sure you had a chance to see it:
Majority-Muslim countries around the world are filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives, just as in America. Indeed, part of what makes America great is having nearly seven million Muslim Americans living here today and enriching our culture and communities.
We can extend that kind of relationship abroad. It won't always be easy, but if we make an effort to bridge our differences rather than resigning ourselves to animosity, we can move toward a more peaceful world over time.

Thank you,
David Axelrod
Senior Advisor to the President
The White House .
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW .
Washington, DC 20500 . 202-456-1111