First: Kaplan interviewed by Hugh Hewitt here.
Next: Today we slummed it out in the sticks of Sichuan province. There was something pornographic about the experience—two Americans, 100km outside of the filthy industrial city of Chengdu, hanging out with peasants and eating the local cuisine of homemade sausages, fish, rice, tofu, and vegetables.
At the end of the day we returned to our guesthouse (just a few bucks a night) and dined on the local speciality of the Sichuan hotpot (another few bucks) before heading out to the internet cafe to communicate the day’s experience to friends across the globe. Meanwhile, our hosts are probably settling down to sleep yet another night out in their shacks. It was a great day, but experiencing the disparity in our lifestyles first hand makes me feel dirty. Or at least makes me guilty about the comparative wealth we enjoy in the first world.
The slow life in Sichuan.
A small critter sniffs at the strangers outside his cage. Yes, rabbit is on the menu in [this part of?] China. (Tastes OK.)
Preparing lunch.
This dog barked ferociously until I approached him. Perhaps he’s praying he isn’t part of our lunch plans—dog is sometimes consumed in parts of Korea, Vietnam, and China.
A side of home-smoked bacon.
Fish farming.
More of the slow life.
And again.
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COMMENTS / 7 COMMENTS
IJ added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 4:44 pmGreat interview with Robert Kaplan. Many interesting points, but the most thought-provoking was when he was asked a ‘what if’ question. Would the military have usurped control of the US from elected politicians if the 9/11 attack had done greater damage? Kaplan answered “Absolutely. Absolutely”.
In the book ‘Three Billion New Capitalists’. Clyde Prestowitz has a more democratic view “The first priority of American leaders – even more important than fighting terror or spreading liberty – should be to ensure long-term US [economic] competitiveness Without it, nothing else will make any difference.”
Perhaps Kaplan is right and we shouldn’t heed the words of Norman Angell:
“The warlike nations do not inherit the earth; they represent the decaying human element…. Are we to continue to struggle, as so many good men struggled in the first dozen centuries of Christendom—spilling oceans of blood, wasting mountains of treasure—to achieve what is at bottom a logical absurdity, to accomplish something which, when accomplished, can avail us nothing, and which, if it could avail us anything, would condemn the nations of the world to never-ending bloodshed and the constant defeat of all those aims which men, in their sober hours, know to be alone worthy of sustained endeavor?”
Chief Wiggum added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 11:15 pmYears back, I read about a group of Americans in Texas who tried to “show around” visiting Russians. Some of these folks got hooked up with Boris Yeltsin and drove him through Dallas, visiting rich & poor neighborhoods, taking him into the local Safeways and various department stores. He was angry at first, because he thought he was getting a Potempkin Village tour, and they were trying to trick him. But they took him anywhere he wanted to go. At the end, he was said to be weaping.
IJ added these pithy words on 31 Dec 05 at 1:14 pmHere is more opposition to the militaristic view that Kaplan shares. Wikipedia has some research into ‘Civilian Control of the Military’.
“Advocates of civilian control generally take a Clausewitzian view of war, emphasizing its political character. . . The military serves as a special government agency, which is supposed to implement, rather than formulate, policies that require the use of certain types of physical force. Kohn succinctly summarizes this view when he writes that: [t]he point of civilian control is to make security subordinate to the larger purposes of a nation, rather than the other way around. The purpose of the military is to defend society, not to define it.”
Mike added these pithy words on 31 Dec 05 at 8:38 pmSlumming it is fine, but there are some really nice gardens in Chengdu that deserve a visit, including the Tomb of Zhuge Liang, which is basically a shrine to the entire Three Kingdoms era/literature. There’s also another gorgeous garden where local retirees put on their daily concerts, but I don’t recall the name, it’s in any of the major guidebooks. I found the city to be pleasant and relaxed.
michael added these pithy words on 01 Jan 06 at 7:29 amchengdu is called “the city of beauty” aka in chinese ” hongfen zhi du ” you should not miss ” the dujiang dam” which is a gorgeous buildup even thousands years ago
teahouse of chengdu is also very famous to native chinese,for it stand for their attitude towards life:to be pleasant
Hunter added these pithy words on 02 Jan 06 at 12:25 amI agree with Mike, Chengdu is one of my favorite cities in China – there’s something laid-back about it. Great food, and lots of interesting history… Anyone visiting should absolutely stop by the panda center – if you visit a zoo in China, you’ll just get depressed, but the panda breeding center outside of Chengdu is fantastic.
Of course, it probably helped that I visited Chengdu immediately after finishing Three Kingdoms, and my visit to the Zhuge Liang site was like a pilgrimage ;)
Mike added these pithy words on 02 Jan 06 at 8:38 amI personally took photos of every single statue of every single character from Three Kingdoms, and then was taking pictures of all the illustrations on the wall in the inner garden when my battery finally died. I then shamelessly blew about a thousand kuai on random three kingdoms stuff as I left the shrine, my one real tourist indulgence of the entire year in China. I’m a niche tourist…
