Moral Duty

Best Government Ever

Most days I get to class a couple hours early and study. There's a fellow in my Chinese class who shows up about a half hour before class. He's one of those I-have-no-life-so-I-throw-the-curve types. I alternate between thinking he's an alright guy and thinking he's an arrogant jerk. In a lot of ways, he's embodies the worst stereotypes of engineers. Last night I had to leave the classroom twice before class began because I did not want to resort to beating the crap out of him. That never changes opinions, especially ones that are already set in stone.

Basically, he said: (none of which I agree with)
-all Taiwanese-American girls he had met were "screwed up", and that this was the fault of their parents
-it's OK for China to go ahead and take over Taiwan whenever they feel like it and there isn't anything the United States can do about it
-the United States would sit and do nothing if China decided to invade Taiwan

I have no words for how inane I find his opinions on this matter.

He's not the only racist, sexist engineer I've come across, but I find it difficult to believe that you can live a substantial portion of your life in a major city and still come out of the experience a bigot. Granted, his girlfriend, who he wants to marry, is a Chinese immigrant, as is her family.

Does democracy mean nothing to Americans anymore? Does honor?

The United States' foreign policy regarding Taiwan is quite clear. Congress passed an act to "resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan." (Taiwan Relations Act) That may or may not involve military action. It also means we won't sit silently and let China have free reign.

It's our moral duty to uphold democracy and freedom in the world. The United States doesn't have a great track record with that, but that doesn't mean you can't start somewhere. Taiwan is a very visible example of an autocratic-government-turned-democratic. If we let that go I think I would have a hard time identifying (and relating) myself as American. It runs against what I believe the U.S.'s moral obligations are.

Maybe that's just an arrogant American wanting-to-convert-the-world-to-democracy typing. 我不知道。

Update: Any government that censors information to the extent that China does (see Great Firewall of China) has issues. For the record, my blog is banned in China. I've had a few hits from China in the past, but apparently I'm too pro-independance for communist tastes.