World Heroes and American Heroes
The other day, an NHK TV satellite channel presented a series of live broadcast from New York.
It introduced various places, people, and cultural aspects of the center of the material world.
For example, it showed how the Central Park had been left in ruins during 1970's when the New York city plunged into the red and how the Park is now shining with full of the flavor of the nature.
It also showed how some New Yorkers are enjoying Japanese culture in their daily lives.
For example, certain elite businessmen are learning Japanese swordsmanship (kendo).
One interesting report is that some young men in New York love Japanese popular music (J-Pop).
(It is really interesting, since some decades ago a professional Japanese guitarist went to America to have his pride hurt as he found even high school students in America could play the guitar as good as he.)
* * *
A Japanese journalist wrote a few years ago that America is large; if you achieved something great in your profession or specialty in Japan, it would look so tiny and futile when you came to America to see so many rivals and their achievements.
A Japanese lawyer once wrote that he could not even sense presence of Japan when he worked in a shining building of a top US financial company in Manhattan in the late 1990's. The second largest economy looked like nothing in the center of the world economy.
The era when Japanese money purchased the Rockefeller Center Building (1989) has indeed become history now, as with the Japan-US Money War triggered by this sort of foray of Japan Money into the U.S. in this period after the Cold War.
Toyota, Honda, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and Nintendo may be also soon gone.
Too good natured Japanese may just remain happy as an inventor of sushi, manga-animation, J-Pops, and kendo...
* * *
Wait! Wait! Isn't something wrong?
Isn't NHK wrong in defining presence of Japan in those minor cultural aspects? Aren't those overwhelmed Japanese wrong in being indoctrinated with an idea that the sun never rises?
Isn't it Japan that has fostered Chinese economy and industries that are expected by Americans to catch up with the U.S. in a few decades?
Isn't it Japan that has raised so much pride in Asians, including Hindus and Muslims?
* * *
From a view point of the Western history, power shifted from the Roman Empire to the Spanish Empire and then to the British Empire and finally the United States.
America has a vast land and natural resources, incommensurable with, for example, Japan, in addition to a basic social system based on democracy and freedom in religion and other social/individual activities.
However, it does not necessarily mean all the Americans are great. Rather, Americans look sons and daughters of a very rich family. They have never created the vast land and natural resources, in addition to democracy and freedom which were all invented in Europe.
If Japan had succeeded in establishing and deploying its own Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google earlier than the U.S. in 1990's, New York should not be so shining today.
I mean people in the world should not be excessively overwhelmed or dazzled by the U.S. and its material success.
For example, if all the foreign-born workers in Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google go back to their mother countries and establish their own Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google there, New York should not be so shining today.
Calculate a portion of US GDP contributed only by Anglo-Americans or European Americans, and you will find the figures not so shining.
In other words, the aura of New York is based on betrayal of those foreign-born workers to their home countries in a sense.
They must be greater when they leave America for their home country than when they were admitted to America.
* * *
When the hegemony of the Roman Empire collapsed, Western Europe got richer. When the hegemony of the Spanish Empire collapsed, the Atlantic region got richer. When the hegemony of the British Empire collapsed, Asia and Africa got richer.
Now, the collapse of the hegemony of the United States may make the whole world richer.
Can't the U.S. be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity in the world?
* * *
The big difference between New York and Tokyo is that Tokyo has been built only by a single race, Japanese. No other races have ever made any non-nonsense contribution to the success of this international city. In the human history, no other single races have ever built this scale of city.
Calculate a portion of Japan's GDP contributed only by native Japanese, and you will find the figure shining rather more in a sense.
* * *
If the U.S. cannot be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity in the world, citizens in the world have to stay in their mother country so as to be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity therein.
Yet, my faith is that Jesus Christ would help non-Americans before He help Americans just like He helped Israelites before He helped Romans.
What non-Americans need is just a bit little courage to be highly appraised by the God in their home countries so as to be a hero in the world, which they cannot become in the U.S.
(I have nothing to say to American heroes. Just like Jesus Christ did not say anything on Roman heroes and heroines.
I have really nothing to say, except in a case of being so encouraged by the Lord God.)
"...Jesus said, 'But we Jews know salvation comes from Jews'..."
The other day, an NHK TV satellite channel presented a series of live broadcast from New York.
It introduced various places, people, and cultural aspects of the center of the material world.
For example, it showed how the Central Park had been left in ruins during 1970's when the New York city plunged into the red and how the Park is now shining with full of the flavor of the nature.
It also showed how some New Yorkers are enjoying Japanese culture in their daily lives.
For example, certain elite businessmen are learning Japanese swordsmanship (kendo).
One interesting report is that some young men in New York love Japanese popular music (J-Pop).
(It is really interesting, since some decades ago a professional Japanese guitarist went to America to have his pride hurt as he found even high school students in America could play the guitar as good as he.)
* * *
A Japanese journalist wrote a few years ago that America is large; if you achieved something great in your profession or specialty in Japan, it would look so tiny and futile when you came to America to see so many rivals and their achievements.
A Japanese lawyer once wrote that he could not even sense presence of Japan when he worked in a shining building of a top US financial company in Manhattan in the late 1990's. The second largest economy looked like nothing in the center of the world economy.
The era when Japanese money purchased the Rockefeller Center Building (1989) has indeed become history now, as with the Japan-US Money War triggered by this sort of foray of Japan Money into the U.S. in this period after the Cold War.
Toyota, Honda, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and Nintendo may be also soon gone.
Too good natured Japanese may just remain happy as an inventor of sushi, manga-animation, J-Pops, and kendo...
* * *
Wait! Wait! Isn't something wrong?
Isn't NHK wrong in defining presence of Japan in those minor cultural aspects? Aren't those overwhelmed Japanese wrong in being indoctrinated with an idea that the sun never rises?
Isn't it Japan that has fostered Chinese economy and industries that are expected by Americans to catch up with the U.S. in a few decades?
Isn't it Japan that has raised so much pride in Asians, including Hindus and Muslims?
* * *
From a view point of the Western history, power shifted from the Roman Empire to the Spanish Empire and then to the British Empire and finally the United States.
America has a vast land and natural resources, incommensurable with, for example, Japan, in addition to a basic social system based on democracy and freedom in religion and other social/individual activities.
However, it does not necessarily mean all the Americans are great. Rather, Americans look sons and daughters of a very rich family. They have never created the vast land and natural resources, in addition to democracy and freedom which were all invented in Europe.
If Japan had succeeded in establishing and deploying its own Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google earlier than the U.S. in 1990's, New York should not be so shining today.
I mean people in the world should not be excessively overwhelmed or dazzled by the U.S. and its material success.
For example, if all the foreign-born workers in Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google go back to their mother countries and establish their own Intel, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google there, New York should not be so shining today.
Calculate a portion of US GDP contributed only by Anglo-Americans or European Americans, and you will find the figures not so shining.
In other words, the aura of New York is based on betrayal of those foreign-born workers to their home countries in a sense.
They must be greater when they leave America for their home country than when they were admitted to America.
* * *
When the hegemony of the Roman Empire collapsed, Western Europe got richer. When the hegemony of the Spanish Empire collapsed, the Atlantic region got richer. When the hegemony of the British Empire collapsed, Asia and Africa got richer.
Now, the collapse of the hegemony of the United States may make the whole world richer.
Can't the U.S. be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity in the world?
* * *
The big difference between New York and Tokyo is that Tokyo has been built only by a single race, Japanese. No other races have ever made any non-nonsense contribution to the success of this international city. In the human history, no other single races have ever built this scale of city.
Calculate a portion of Japan's GDP contributed only by native Japanese, and you will find the figure shining rather more in a sense.
* * *
If the U.S. cannot be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity in the world, citizens in the world have to stay in their mother country so as to be a grain of wheat for peace and prosperity therein.
Yet, my faith is that Jesus Christ would help non-Americans before He help Americans just like He helped Israelites before He helped Romans.
What non-Americans need is just a bit little courage to be highly appraised by the God in their home countries so as to be a hero in the world, which they cannot become in the U.S.
(I have nothing to say to American heroes. Just like Jesus Christ did not say anything on Roman heroes and heroines.
I have really nothing to say, except in a case of being so encouraged by the Lord God.)
"...Jesus said, 'But we Jews know salvation comes from Jews'..."