• by Johan Galtung
• Tuesday, June 07, 2011
• Inter Press Service

The majority view in the world seems to be that the US Empire is dark and the US Republic bright. But there are also brighter sides to the empire and darker sides to the republic. One measure of maturity is how many such levels of analysis one can master, writes Johan Galtung, Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University and author of "The Fall of the US Empire -And Then What?".

In this article, Galtung writes that it is both possible and meaningful to be anti-US fundamentalist and imperialist without being anti-American. There are huge differences in economic power, decision-making power, and the power to kill (often highly illegal) in the US. But these differences are far smaller in daily life, where Americans make you feel at home, like one of them; they are generous and open-minded.

US culture still exhibits incredible creativity: in classical, modern, and postmodern arts, science, and technology. Equally important, arts and science do not belong to a certain class but are participated in by all society. The US has not only created new culture that has caught on all over the world; it has made culture for mass--not upper class-- consumption a world pattern. It is not surprising that Americans rally to its defense when they perceive the US as threatened. And yet, in doing so they may eliminate their greatest asset through secrecy, suspicion and police state measures. Hopefully this will not happen.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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