Security and Liberty

I was at a night club in Beijing talking to a slightly inebriated African artist. I say “African” because I can’t remember which country he said he was from. I am sure he told me but it was loud. “I like you’re W Bush!” he said in a straight-forward tone.

 I thought maybe I heard him wrong so I tried a different approach. “You mean the president…our president?” I said loudly hoping to be heard over the energy fueled thumping bass the DJ happily pushed out.

“Yes of course! He is like a parent spanking a bad child” He was referring to the war effort in Iraq, Afghanistan and the despots like Muammar Gadhafi that had surrendered their nuclear programs to international observers.

“I am sorry did you say you were an artist?” I said, shocked at his gratitude for a president who was universally despised outside the United States, at least I thought. Here was an artist (bohemian, liberal) who saw Bush in a positive light. Not only in a positive light but also someone with the moral authority to ‘punish’ evildoers. This was a first for me. After traveling around China and hanging with expats I just assumed the American president to be a figure of scorn and ridicule, at least this president.

I didn’t feel that way myself of course but defending one’s own culture to a vastly different one can be exhausting. I never took it personal. I didn’t understand some of the unsavory aspects of Chinese life either. The open air pet shops are a cultural blight I couldn’t un-see if I wanted to. The dogs and cats were crammed into a tight metal cage without enough room for each one to turn around in place. I felt like buying them all and letting them run away. Culture is unique to different parts of the world and I never wanted to lecture on minor points. So I let the criticisms of the US and Bush slide without much fuss. The harshest critics were back at home anyway.

The encounter with the African man at the expat bar taught me that Africa is different from Europe and America, as if you didn’t know. I can’t say for sure how representative he was of his countrymen but I didn’t meet too many Africans (a few Nigerians) from any country while in China. It is fair to assume a significant amount had no problem with the war in Iraq and even applauded the effort to rid the county of Saddam Hussein.

“You’re the first person to say that to me!” I smiled while shouting over the pulsating tracks. Still a little slurred but being friendly he suggested we visit his exhibit. “I have a show tomorrow at the embassy if you want to come.” he said. He pulled out 2 pamphlets for the event, signed them and handed them to my friend Andrew who was still as surprised at me about the Bush comment. The “show” was for artists from the area, I guess, at the Democratic Republic of the Congo embassy in Beijing. The details of the event were a little fuzzy even at the time but we did attend. It isn’t every day I get invited to any embassy. Turns out they speak French in the DRC, we didn’t understand a word from the speaker.

The incident at the bar was one of my first stark reminders that all corners of the world understand things like war and suffering differently. The reasons are varied. I couldn’t begin to put together all the personal accounts and experiences to fill out a complete picture. National histories, economics and international exposure all come into play. Many people associate ‘greatness’ with recognition only. As was the case with my Mongolian students who told me (through broken English) that Hitler was a great German leader.

I assume they meant “recognizable” and therefore “great”. At least I hope that’s what they meant.

When I say “understand things like war and suffering differently” I don’t mean it in the moral relativist way like, “Corruption is a way of life in every country, who can say it’s wrong”, or apologizing for drug dealing because jobs are hard to come by. Most of us are guilty of doing this logic some of the time. We want to justify wrong by contrasting it with larger wrongs.

Concrete institutions we as Americans take for granted like the rule of law and economic liberalism aren’t fundamental to many others. Not that citizens of DRC or even China wouldn’t love a just legal code with freedom of movement and the freedom of religion. Of course they would, but experience and practicality put those notions out of reach. Also cultural norms often dictate what change is possible.

Corruption is indeed a way of life and changing it requires a herculean effort. Only strong and determined leaders can stop it, and even then only through fear. People hate corruption because it disadvantages those who can’t afford to participate and it puts the 'machinery' of the state up for sale. It sends a strong signal to everyone, “If you want government to work be prepared to pay.” When paying bribes is a way of life no one can imagine life without it.

Much of the world doesn’t get to experience reliable institutions (imperfect as they are) year after year. In the US we have a legal system rooted in notions of liberty and justice, we complain of course but mostly it doesn’t change when the administrations change. In other words presidents don’t get to establish new courts and throw out governors or Senators because they want to. They can’t introduce new currency into the economy or kick in doors in Pennsylvania and arrest Quakers. Attempts at overreach are met with legal smack downs or citizen protests. Presidents aren’t kings. The conflicts are messy but the system prevails and security is maintained overall.

Security is not always transferable in the third world (however you define it) from outgoing to incoming leaders. Transfers of power can be contentious and violent. An official on a losing side can be imprisoned or killed. Poor leaders who are interested in nothing more than power are destructive in the long term.  This is a big part of why security is valued more than liberal thought and democratic norms. For many people it changes like the weather.

My friend from the DRC embassy probably recognized the injustice of those dictators in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or maybe he just had too much to drink.