A number of adages from the decades of the sixties and seventies survived long enough to make themselves useful at the start of the twenty first century. Most of the time, however, they were immediately rejected by those who viewed themselves as modern. Well, here is one adage about which I challenge anyone to find a good reason to eject: “I want you off my line of sight”.
Believe it or not, it happened that even in the Age of Aquarius — that of infinite love and
flower power, some people were disturbed by the unwanted company of others. It
happened to the extent that they could not even look at the other, let alone be
in company with them. Thus an adage was created that immortalized their
distress; leaving to posterity an unmistakable legacy concerning the dark side
of the human condition and its true nature.
Knowing this, reassures us that we are not at odds with who we are or
that monstrosity has not seeped into our character, turning us into
technological wizards seeking to populate other worlds with our defective
character. This applies to the Americans who want to see their government
pushback against foreigners entering their country illegally to do work they
will not do themselves. It also applies to the Chinese, North Koreans, Russians
and Iranians who want to see the Americans out of their line of sight.
Thanks to globalization, the epidemic, the supply chain interruptions
and other factors, the concepts that relate to that human trait, have surfaced
lately and gained a strong traction in the debating houses of many nations.
Clifford D. May has declared himself an active participant in the debate, thus added
to it the two cents worth of his wisdom; doing it with a column titled: “What
China’s ‘Cold War’ rulers want from US,” and the subtitle “The FBI director
understands, many business leaders do not.” The column was published on July
12, 2022 in The Washington Times.
It so happened that not long ago, Christopher Wray, America’s FBI
director had travelled to Britain which is America’s most trusted ally in
Europe. The apparent reason was that his observation of China’s behavior
convinced him the distant country was a dangerous and destructive entity, and
that he — being in charge
of America’s security if not the planet's — should talk to the world about his destress by telling the
truth as he knows it to an audience that will welcome and appreciate his
wisdom.
Whatever support Mr. Ray may or may not have received from the rest of
the world, the undeniable truth is that he knocked the socks off Clifford May
who quoted from the speech extensively. It was especially the cornerstone
observation to the effect that helping China become rich, made it a serious
aggressor. Clifford May who would rather perish than play to the good nature of
others, latched on to the idea he always championed in any case, namely that it
was dangerous to accommodate others. And so, Clifford May started immediately
to construct a new theory which he believes will guide America into a future that’s
free of American urge to cozy-up to “undemocratic” foreigners.
Here, in condensed form, is how Clifford May’s new theory would look
like, according to his description of it in the column: You will see that each
side is blaming the “Cold War mentality” on the other, which is normal given
that they are equal powers, each trying to neutralize the other. You will also
encounter accusations thrown in the fashion of a sleight of hand rather than expressed
openly. You will understand that despite wanting to hurt the other, the two
sides avoid burning their bridges. Here is that description:
“The Chinese Embassy warned US
companies that, if they want to keep doing business in China, they need to
fight bills in our Congress that China doesn’t like. In other words, they are
instructing American businessmen to act as their lobbyists and agents. Maurice
Greenberg, a titan of the American business community who last week published
in The Wall Street Journal an op-ed titled: ‘We Want to Rebuild US Relations
with China,’ announced that he is now heading a small group of senior US
business and policy leaders who have experience in China and share the view
that we would be better served by having a more constructive relationship with
China; one based on mutual respect and understanding. Among the distinguished
members of this bipartisan coalition are Max Baucus, former US ambassador to
China, William Cohen, former secretary of defense, and Carla Hills, former US
Trade Representative. They are confident that like-minded people in China would
embrace the opportunity to work together to find solutions. I find it puzzling
that they appear so little troubled by the brutal persecution of China’s ethnic
and religious minorities, the stripping of the rights of the people of Hong
Kong in violation of specific treaty obligations, the continuing threats
against Taiwan, and the use of debt-trap diplomacy to achieve imperialist goals
in vulnerable third world countries. The men who hold all the power in China
are anti-American neo-Maoists. Their policies include military-civil fusion,
the acquisition of what can be used against American troops in any future
conflict. Does that sound ‘like-minded’ to you?”
It may be possible for Clifford May to argue that officials in China and
America are not like-minded, but what he cannot do is make the same argument
regarding the officials in China and Israel, Clifford May’s pet project. Here
is what there is to say about Israel: