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- Ernst argues that Americans do not understand other cultures from around the world. He claims that Europeans and Americans create a contemporary gap of understanding, separating the West from the rest of the world.
- Evidence
- “As a result of the era of European colonialism, languages such as French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Russian are the most prestigious vehicles of education … In contrast;· it is possible for educated Americans and Europeans to ignore Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, and Malay-Indonesian with perfect equanimity, even though more people today speak these non-European languages.”
- “It used to be that we spoke of three worlds: the First World, consisting of economically and technologically developed nations, primarily the United States, Europe, and Japan; the Second World, mainly the former Soviet Union and its Communist allies; and the Third World, the poor and underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.”
- “Conventional wisdom has it that, despite the demise of the USSR, there is still a confrontation of the West against the rest…he concludes by postulating an eventual death struggle between the progressive West and the retrograde Islamic world.”
- Regarding the first piece of evidence, Americans have a superiority complex in which they disregard other cultures and the opportunity to learn about them. Americans are well equipped with the tools to learn other languages, similar to how other countries learn English, yet Americans are less likely to learn said countries’ languages. Ernst fortifies his belief by clarifying the different worlds and how colonialism put Europe and America on top. He adds that though past wars and conflicts have settled, there is still tension and conflict between the West and the rest of the world. Ernst furthers his claim by comparing the Islamic world to the West, concluding that there will eventually be a struggle between the two worlds. Especially in regards to their common religions, Ernst sheds light on Islamic culture, comparing and contrasting it with the Euro-American ideology. Such pieces of evidence prove the argument that the Euro-American world does not understand other cultures very well and has this cultural gap separating them from other places that put in the effort to learn about their country and language. In the long run, Ernst’s claim has significance because it has been said many times in the past that Americans live in their world. We have the chance for the American dream, and the country is spoiled. There are many conflicts that Western superiority represents, such as the Zionist movement creating the Israel and Palestine conflicts. Colonization has been a common theme in our world’s troubles. We must recognize who is right or wrong in order to fight for what is right and for what belongs to the right people. Ernst’s claim gives credit to other countries and pays homage to the Islamic world.
