Rahm Emanuel Reflections on Japan

The US ambassador to Japan discusses his tenure

It is common for outgoing US ambassadors to summarize time spent overseas in a foreign nation. These faux-memoirs are usually published in a mainstream publication such as The Washington Post or The New York Times, and are presented as a personal reminisce of the officials actions and deeds performed while in that post.

What the articles usually turn into are a declaration of US geopolitical goals and an outline for surrounding nations to see. Rahm Emanuel, the outgoing US ambassador for Japan does exactly that in a long-winded essay for The Washington Post this morning. He describes the usual lines about containment goals for China, and boasts about his accomplishments forging new ties between Japan and South Korea. He also advocates for more money for defense and confrontation with China. Nothing new or unexpected in this territory of Asia-Pacific politics.

What caught my eye was his almost childlike wonder displayed when he wrote about first experiencing Japanese culture. He marvels at the level of a functioning high trust society. In a rudimentary and vague way, he points out that a lack of diversity in Japan contributes heavily to their cohesive (and safe) society.

Here are some excerpts:

My first few weeks in Tokyo were eye-opening. One weekend not long after we had arrived, my wife, Amy, and I headed to a coffee shop in Tokyo’s Daikanyama district. I told her I would watch our things while she got the coffee. As I waited, I noticed that people were saving tables with valuables like phones and purses, without anyone watching over them.

Yes, in a homogenous society people expect a level of civility that is not common in all areas of the US. Bringing shame to the family by being a common street urchin pick-pocket is frowned upon.

Also, the first time we ran the Imperial Palace loop (a popular jogging path in central Tokyo), we noticed runners leaving backpacks on benches and returning to them 10 kilometers later. This is everyday life in the most-populous city on Earth, where that level of social trust is the norm.

“The most-populous city on Earth” He is close to understanding it, but the connection is not quite there on the how and why of this process.

Equally bewildering — and equally beautiful — is the sight of 5- and 6-year-olds, dressed in immaculate school uniforms and carrying leather backpacks, walking alone six to eight blocks to and from school each day. Seeing cars come to a complete stop at crosswalks when children raise a hand in the air is hard to believe. It resonates with me because, as Chicago mayor, I introduced “Safe Passage” routes to ensure children in the city could walk, unharmed, to school. There, we paid safety officers to do a job that is second nature for Japanese citizens.(bold added for emphasis)

Rahm should look at a photo collage of American cities in the 1950s, or even old footage of London during that era. Didn’t even have to pay folks to be safety officers back then.

Such scenes highlight how much American kids have been robbed of their innocence. In the United States, we make so many compromises and concessions to address our safety concerns. Being free of that relentless restraint is liberating.

And who robbed them of that? We used to be a nation like that too, Rahm.

We talk a lot about America’s diversity as its greatest strength, but I’m also aware of its many challenges. My time with U.S. military personnel serving across Japan reminded me that our diversity is a strength only when it is underpinned by a common set of beliefs. Without those values and their binding force, our diversity can be a liability that our adversaries will try to exploit.

He finishes off with the standard word salad jumble on diversity is our greatest strength, blah, blah, blah. But what stood out was his declaration that it requires a common set of beliefs, values, and a binding force. What is the common set? They seem to change on a whim every week. All we hear are platitudes about freedom and a fealty to Democracy-as long as it means voting for Progressive candidates and causes. When tradition and norms are demonized to the point of absurdity, ie, “The founders would have approved of drag queen story hour.”

Really?

This is where Progressives display a kinetic power of cognitive dissonance. Diversity + Cohesion are oxymorons. Once Leftists abandoned the ideas of assimilation and acknowledgement of the need for a dominant, majority culture setting societal norms and expectations, the process of Western decline began.

“You do you” and the absence of a prominent shaming culture were major elements to Western decline. Bringing in millions of people entirely detached from the Anglo-Saxon history merely poured gasoline on the bonfire that is the 21st century of the West.

If you enjoy these posts, you can now tip me with a coffee.