Was America dissed at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics? Writing for Die Welt, Jamie F. Metzl writes:
“There was no mistaking the power and symbolism of the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8. That multimedia spectacular did far more than trace China’s 5,000-year history; it was a statement that China is a major civilization that demands and deserves its rightful place in the global hierarchy.
There was also no mistaking the symbolism of seeing President George W. Bush, waving cheerfully from his spot in the bleachers while Chinese President Hu Jintao sat behind what looked like a throne. It’s hard to imagine that China’s government, which obsesses over every minute issue of diplomatic protocol, had not orchestrated this stark image of America’s decline relative to the country to which it owes $1.4 trillion. It would be hard to imagine Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan accepting a similar relative position.”
But Metzl is not at all pleased by this turn of events, and he writes of America’s next president:
“The world is not ready for the post-American era … until it is, the world needs a new kind of American leader – a leader able to inspire Americans to fix their problems at home and work with partners across the globe in promoting a common agenda as bold and progressive as the order built from the ashes of World War II 60 years ago.”
By Jamie F. Metzl*
Translated By Ulf Behncke
August 20, 2008
Germany – Die Welt – Original Article (German)
August 8, 2008 may one day be remembered as the first day of the post-American era. Or it could be remembered as another “Sputnik moment,” when, as with the Soviet foray into outer space in 1957, the American people realized that the country had lost its footing and decided it was time for the United States to get its act together.
There was no mistaking the power and symbolism of the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8. That multimedia spectacular did far more than trace China’s 5,000-year history; it was a statement that China is a major civilization that demands and deserves its rightful place in the global hierarchy.
There was also no mistaking the symbolism of seeing President George W. Bush, waving cheerfully from his spot in the bleachers while Chinese President Hu Jintao sat behind what looked like a throne. It’s hard to imagine that China’s government, which obsesses over every minute issue of diplomatic protocol, had not orchestrated this stark image of America’s decline relative to the country to which it owes $1.4 trillion. It would be hard to imagine Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan accepting a similar relative position.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election and how the world percieves out nation.
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