While I was home, incidentally reading an enormous book on the history of Japan, Dad asked me why I was so interested in Japan and Japanese history. Despite the typical interest in understanding the samurai ethos, however, my interest is not in Japanese history generally, except in terms of contextualizing the Meiji era of its history. Japan transformed from a medieval, decentralized, semi-feudal congeries of partially autonomous states into a highly centralized modern empire ranking among the most important world powers with amazing speed. America had its part in this: Perry's gunboat diplomacy played a significant role not only in demonstrating the powerlessness of the Shogunate but also in convincing the elites that they must adopt Western technology. It is an interesting case of a social and technological transformation of a whole society. This of course begs the question: why am I interested in that?
Part of my interest arises from the fact that this transformation was actually a subversion of the intentions of many of its supporters. As the name implies, the Meiji Restoration was intended by many to be a return to an older version of Japan. The intention was to promote loyalty to the Emperor and expulsion of the foreigners. Since neither of these goals was truly compatible with the aims and abilities of the Shogunate, it was a powerful rallying cry against it. At the same time, the latter aim was totally unrealistic even for a reconstituted imperium. Thus the message changed to one of Imperial loyalty combined with national strength, to be achieved by adopting the technologies and institutions of Western powers. Some Meiji-era heroes reconciled themselves to this shift in emphasis, while others did not, or were not pleased with the way in which modernization was achieved. Samurai insurrections, recently romanticized in The Last Samurai, were one of the results. I find it interesting that this Restoration, with its roots in primitivism and xenophobia, actually resulted in modernization and international engagement.
More than that, however, I feel that we are in a similar time of transition and challenge. Scientific illiteracy and disrespect for science, especially in regard of religious meddling, seems to be rising. American industry, once a wellspring of innovation, is now tentative and fearful — the failures of the automobile giants are just one example of how conservative thinking is working against us. The budget for basic sciences has again suffered at the hands of an incompetent Congress. The rest of the world will soon embark on a significant transformation. By the end of the century petroleum will be dead, perhaps replaced by biodiesel, but it is also quite likely that hydrocarbon fuel itself will be a thing of the past. This single change alone will require enormous adjustments in infrastructure and the development of new technologies. The challenges of feeding the world's population and dealing with antibiotic- and drug- resistant infectious agents will also require scientific advances. The retirement of the baby boomers will place an enormous strain on our benefits system, reminiscent of the unsustainable samurai retainers which had to be done away with to revitalize Meiji Japan.
In short, the world is changing and we are not doing anything to keep up with it. The Japanese of the 1860s had Perry's black ships to tell them that they were too far behind the world order and had to catch up, but I doubt any such thing will happen to us. American corporations, bloated and clumsy, will not be able to catch up to the new world that is developing; American science, hamstrung by politicization, poor planning, and antiquated methods of delivering funding and education, to say nothing of the ongoing assaults of Christians, will also lag. We will simply wake up one day and realize that the rest of the world has undergone a green revolution and left us behind technologically and economically.
In order to avoid this fate I feel we must have our own restoration. And unlike the Meiji Restoration, I don't feel that we must start with fundamentalism and work our way around to progress. We have the advantage that a dedication to reason is part of our national heritage. Despite the distortions and outright lies of fundamentalists, we were founded as a secular nation by Enlightenment Deists who believed in the power of reason to resolve the problems of mankind. They were not superstitious men who believed that the answers to their problems lay within religious doctrine or the rulers those doctrines had imbued with absolute authority. The finest expression of this is in the First Amendment, which firmly places religion in a subordinate position. In the nation they devised, man would rule religion; religion would not rule man. That is our past, and I believe that principle can be used to build our future.
It's not a simple analogy — the differences between modern America and Meiji Japan are enormous. The transformation I am suggesting, being primarily cultural and economic, is also quite dissimilar to that undergone by Japan. Yet I feel it is equally necessary, especially in light of the rising tide of conservatism and superstition that seems poised to stifle innovation and scientific advancement at just the moment — with practically all of our industries foundering — that we need it most. Inventiveness, independence, rationality... these qualities are our heritage from our Founding Fathers. They are the true American values, and we ought to restore them to their rightful place at the center of our national identity.
More than that, however, I feel that we are in a similar time of transition and challenge. Scientific illiteracy and disrespect for science, especially in regard of religious meddling, seems to be rising. American industry, once a wellspring of innovation, is now tentative and fearful — the failures of the automobile giants are just one example of how conservative thinking is working against us. The budget for basic sciences has again suffered at the hands of an incompetent Congress. The rest of the world will soon embark on a significant transformation. By the end of the century petroleum will be dead, perhaps replaced by biodiesel, but it is also quite likely that hydrocarbon fuel itself will be a thing of the past. This single change alone will require enormous adjustments in infrastructure and the development of new technologies. The challenges of feeding the world's population and dealing with antibiotic- and drug- resistant infectious agents will also require scientific advances. The retirement of the baby boomers will place an enormous strain on our benefits system, reminiscent of the unsustainable samurai retainers which had to be done away with to revitalize Meiji Japan.
In short, the world is changing and we are not doing anything to keep up with it. The Japanese of the 1860s had Perry's black ships to tell them that they were too far behind the world order and had to catch up, but I doubt any such thing will happen to us. American corporations, bloated and clumsy, will not be able to catch up to the new world that is developing; American science, hamstrung by politicization, poor planning, and antiquated methods of delivering funding and education, to say nothing of the ongoing assaults of Christians, will also lag. We will simply wake up one day and realize that the rest of the world has undergone a green revolution and left us behind technologically and economically.
In order to avoid this fate I feel we must have our own restoration. And unlike the Meiji Restoration, I don't feel that we must start with fundamentalism and work our way around to progress. We have the advantage that a dedication to reason is part of our national heritage. Despite the distortions and outright lies of fundamentalists, we were founded as a secular nation by Enlightenment Deists who believed in the power of reason to resolve the problems of mankind. They were not superstitious men who believed that the answers to their problems lay within religious doctrine or the rulers those doctrines had imbued with absolute authority. The finest expression of this is in the First Amendment, which firmly places religion in a subordinate position. In the nation they devised, man would rule religion; religion would not rule man. That is our past, and I believe that principle can be used to build our future.
It's not a simple analogy — the differences between modern America and Meiji Japan are enormous. The transformation I am suggesting, being primarily cultural and economic, is also quite dissimilar to that undergone by Japan. Yet I feel it is equally necessary, especially in light of the rising tide of conservatism and superstition that seems poised to stifle innovation and scientific advancement at just the moment — with practically all of our industries foundering — that we need it most. Inventiveness, independence, rationality... these qualities are our heritage from our Founding Fathers. They are the true American values, and we ought to restore them to their rightful place at the center of our national identity.
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