Home >> United States & Canada >> Social Security & Health  Email  Print Preparing Unipolar Children for a Nonpolar World Jennifer L. Jackson - 6/15/2008 America is still preparing our children for life in a unipolar world, and as described by Richard Haass[1] and Fareed Zakaria[2] in separate essays which appeared in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs, we are living in an emerging nonpolar world. The ability of the United States to adjust, survive, and prosper in this new world order will depend upon successful preparation of the next generation for the evolution of the international power structure already happening.
In ways both formal and informal we are teaching our youth how we became a superpower, instead of teaching them the skills necessary to function when we are not. As a society we must accept that our reign of world-domination is coming to a close, and as Americans we should take some measure of pride in how we have contributed to the "rise of the rest" (Zakaria). Next, we must be willing to change our perspective and shift our paradigms to reflect this realization and acceptance of nonpolarity. Finally, we must evaluate how to reconstruct our educational institutions to properly prepare our children for a new age marked by globalization and integration.
Politics, Policy, & Power
U.S. politics and foreign policy are marked by an adversarial, "with us or against us," "do what we say, or else…" approach; however, our ability to deliver on the "or else" is dramatically diminished in a nonpolar world. This attitude of constant competition is perpetuated in almost all other aspects of American society from youth sports to college admissions, and is often identified as a positive character trait for someone (particularly a male) to exude. In order to prevent alienation and hostility on the nonpolar playground, the U.S. must replace competition with cooperation. We must instill in the next generation a belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and teach them to value discourse and nonviolent conflict resolution.
Students in the United States take between ten and twelve history/government/social studies courses between first and twelfth grade, and with the exception of one world history course required in some school districts, all of these classes are focused on American history and American government. In addition, there is virtually no attention to current events within the educational curriculum. Though we must educate students about American history and government; more importantly, we must teach them that America does not exist in a vacuum. We must provide them with opportunities to learn about other political systems and cultures, so that they have the ability to approach the world from a perspective of understanding rather than ignorance.
As a nation we have historically viewed power as "ours," something we possess, and our efforts have been focused on retaining and expanding that power. Our children will not have the luxury of unilateral decision-making, and instead will be forced to depend upon collaboration and power-sharing; how smoothly America transitions into the new world order will be dictated by how well we train the younger generation in these survival skills.
Economics, Energy, & the Environment
Economics on the national level are currently plagued by large spending deficits, a weakening currency, and a slowing growth rate. Our children witness a society in which we spend beyond our means, do not save adequately, and indulge in a culture of materialism. For the average American student that is not interested in pursuing a mathematical or science related field, it is significantly more important that they understand the basic principles of sound economics than the formulas found in calculus. It is more important that we provide our youth with a foundation of responsible spending and financial management, so that we do not push them into a hole that they cannot dig the U.S. out of.
Formal U.S. energy policy is virtually non-existent, and is informally manifested in deed through high consumption and oil dependency; we are teaching the future leaders of our nation that maintaining our comfortable lifestyle is more valuable than conserving non-renewable natural resources. Nothing that we are doing as a society suggests that finding and developing feasible alternative fuel sources is an imperative for the continuation of life, let alone lifestyle.
Similar to the lack of formal energy policy, U.S. environmental policy is embarrassingly absent. We have snubbed our oil-smudged nose at the world in refusing to sign the Kyoto Treaty, and are sending the message that we are above environmental reform. Our children are living in a society that exports trash and greenhouse gas emissions to the rest of the world. We must weave an emphasis on environmental science into the fabric of our educational system from the elementary years, educators must encourage innovation and creativity, and our youth must be afforded the means and opportunity to solve the problems that they are inheriting.
Culture, Communication, & Community
U.S. culture is both rich and dynamic as a result of past and present immigration, but is also characterized by ethno-centrism and intolerance. The very immigrants' whose labor is necessary to our economy are persecuted and ridiculed, their work indispensable and their contributions ignored. Our children see this. They are raised to feel as if they are superior to immigrants or anyone with an accent or living in a foreign nation; we brainwash them until they believe that America is the biggest, fastest, smartest, strongest, richest, safest, best country in the world. We teach them that to not believe these things is to be unpatriotic and un-American.
This attitude of superiority and center-of-the-universe attitude is evident in how we refuse to learn or teach our children foreign languages. Not only are we intolerant and indignant about anyone in the United States speaking any language other than English, we expect everyone abroad to learn English so that they may communicate with us as well. The U.S. educational system does not require that students learn a foreign language, and in most school districts the opportunity to take part in foreign language courses does not exist until high school. The lesson to our children is that we are so important that others will figure out how to communicate with us, and in the process we rob them of the opportunity to learn new languages and skills which will help them to navigate their way through the nonpolar world.
As we enter into this new era of global diffusion, community will be what unites us all. As Americans, we must take off the W.A.S.P. blindfold in order to experience, appreciate, and celebrate the rest of what the world has to offer. We must be willing to use our hearts and our five senses to explore life beyond our borders and our beliefs, we must be willing to accept that different does not equate to wrong. When we only recognize and celebrate Christian holidays we tell our children that those are the days that we value, and by extension, that other holidays celebrated by other people are less relevant. In order for the U.S. to be welcomed into the nonpolar world, we must become more progressive related to how we manage diversity, culture, communication, and community at home first; marginalization, intolerance, and ignorance will not be adequate strategies as we move forward.
SOURCES
[1] Haass, Richard. "The Age of Nonpolarity." Foreign Affairs Vol.87, No.3 (May/June 2008): 44 -56.
[2] Zakaria, Fareed. "The Future of American Power." Foreign Affairs Vol.87, No.3 (May/June 2008): 18-43.
Jennifer L. Jackson holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Masters of Public Administration. She is a freelance writer and teacher, based in the United States. You can email her at jennifer.jackson15774@gmail.com
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