humanist, jeremy rifkin vs. christian, wiliam j. bennett

i got up in the middle of the night to "blog" on an odd and slightly disturbing excerpt from a book entitled THE EUROPEAN DREAM by jeremy rifkin...

in the excerpt, published in utne, sept-oct 2004 issue, rifkin writes that "it saddens (him) to say that america is no longer a great country." (p 75)

he bases this observation on his view that the european union (e.u.) has usurped the american dream and substituted a better dream...

it seems that americans are too naive and optimistic, with "unbounded hope" while europeans are cynical with a "deep pessimistic edge ingrained" in them...

while americans are seen as "living to work," europeans supposedly work to "deep play"... getting an average of 6 weeks vacation annually, for example, to our "2 weeks"... they also have less prisoners, better math literacy, and a lower infant mortality rate than the u.s.a.

they are also more "embedded" with one another and fond of "belonging, not belongings" (p 77)

rifkin writes:

today, two-thirds of the people living across the european union say they feel "european."... (and) say they "now regard themselves more as europeans than as nationals of their home country." although it is difficult to fathom, this extraordinary change in how europe's people perceive themselves has occurred in less than 50 years.

he also indicates that in the proposed e.u. constitution, "there is not a single reference to God" and that "many europeans no longer believe in God."

the language throughout the draft constitution speaks of universalism, making it clear that its focus is not on a people, or a territory, or a nation, but rather the human race and the planet we inhabit.

rifkin points out that the american dream is "inseparable from the country's religious heritage and deep spiritual faith" and that "the european dream is secular to the core"...

and rifkin says that we are not a great country...because we have income inequality, increasing violence, and long commutes to work...

yet, he also writes that while europe went the way of democratic socialism, america did not,

making us the most devoutly prostestant people on earth and most committed to scientific pursuits, private property, capitalism, and the nation-state.

on the other hand, william j. bennett in his book, THE BROKEN HEARTH writes that our founding fathers

got things about right. Capitalism, they saw, was a crucial component in sustaining a liberal, democratic society...

the founding fathers also knew that certain human traits towards violence, avarice, excessive individualism would need curbing, and this is where the strong family

serves as something of a counterbalance

nevertheless, bennett writes that:

capitalism has created a degree of opportunity unimaginable only a few generations ago. while lifting an unprecidented number of people out of poverty, moreover, the free market and private property have helped to further political freedom and to secure basic human rights. the market economy rewards human initiative, creativity, and excellence. it is...the most efficient and humane economic system the world has ever known

(p 35-36)