"Imperialism" And Constructive Criticism

I have encountered, both in America and Australia, attitudes such as “how dare these people come into our country and tell us what to do.” I have a serious response to that claim.

In an interconnected world, everyone will be influencing everyone else. In case of America, the influence is unavoidable, even to places that do not want the American influence. I have influences from both Russia and America, and I have found both right things and wrong things with both. And in both cases each side has things of merit to teach the other. America stands to teach Russia better ways to do politics and economics, and Russia stands to teach America better educational and cultural practices.

With Australia, there is a lot that is right. The biggest problem in this country however appears to be an entrenched culture of violence against women. Solving this problem is not “telling you what to do”; it is correcting the biggest thing that is wrong with a country that in other ways is a magnificent place.

I want to see every place in the world improve. That includes Australia; that also includes my home country as well as America, Israel, France and many other places in the world. In all cases there are problems, and they are solvable problems. Telling people about such things is not “arrogance” or “imperialism” or anything of the sort. It is offering constructive criticism that one can use in order to improve.

Working to solve Australia's problems does not preclude working to solve other places' problems. Once again, I have things to say about my home country as well. I want to see every place become the best place that it can be. That includes Australia. That also includes Russia, America, Israel, Middle East, what have you.

Now there is every reason to have an angry attitude against Muslim men who come into places like Sydney and Oslo and gang-rape Western girls. However it is completely misguided to have an angry attitude at people showing what needs to be done in one's country. I regard what I am doing to be a contribution to Australia. There is a lot that is right about Australia. There is one major problem that keeps lingering, and it is the problem of which I have spoken above.

Then there is the claim that there is something wrong with a non-Australian man marrying an Australian woman. How many Australian men are married to women from Russia? Now it would have been perfectly understandable to be angry in case a man were to become abusive; but I was never abusive to my wife. There are many men in this country who think that abuse is the only way to go. I have shown that this is not the case.

Is this then telling people what to do? No, it is showing that there are better ways possible. That is not a detraction from the country; it is contribution to the country. If I was going around with signs that say “fuck Australia,” you would have the right to be angry. I am not doing anything of the sort. I see what is good in Australia and affirm it, while confronting what in Australia is wrong.

Often people need an external perspective. They get so caught up in their mindset that they fail to see many important things. I have seen this everywhere. In my case, I have both an external perspective and an internal perspective. The first makes it possible for me to see what is wrong in the place. The second makes it possible for me to advocate for this place to people from elsewhere who have a wrong idea.

Both of these are contributions to Australia. In the first case, I offer a view as to what needs to be corrected in a place that is in other ways one of the best places in the world. In the second case, I am informing other people positively about the country. What I am doing should be welcomed rather than attacked. It works for the benefit of Australian people, and it also works for the benefit of Australia's reputation abroad.