People used to associate the Anglo-American Empire as the British Empire but at present, it is known as the US Superpower. There seems to be a big difference between the two, for those of us who are living at the present. These two empires actually seem to be guided by the same underlying world view without sharing the same language.
So, has the Anglo-American Empire been a blessing or a curse on the world?
This question occurred when a very gifted speaker named Tony Campolo have spoken about all good Christian preachers and challenged everyone to have more than what they have. Tony Campolo is also known to be very entertaining, insightful and challenging. His ideas could be uncomfortable in process but infinitely rewarding.
Loving one's neighbor is the topic of Tony. He has used an anecdote to illustrate this. The anecdote deeply affected him and developed his passion to love the poor. He told the story about the time when he was in a third world country and was approached by three underage girls. They were earning a living as child street prostitutes. What he did was unlikely. He gave them money, allowed them to sleep in his hotel room, while eating ice cream and watching Disney movies. He was concerned though, that he only alleviated their suffering for a night. This was his cry to God and it stayed with him for many years.
He was pushed for World Vision child sponsorship, no doubt for its worthy goal.
If people from the US or UK would share some money from their spare change to help out the people from the third world countries, it would be a great impact on their lives. People who are living in the US or UK may sometimes believe that they are not that wealthy or blessed, but when compared to third world countries where child prostitution is rampant, they are actually lucky.
Where did this money come from? And where did the will to use it to make the world a better place come from?
We tend to knock on the British Empire and sometimes criticize the US attempts of intervening with international affairs. But this seems politically correct to do.
Yet it remains an historical fact that the average man in the street has never been better educated, better fed, wealthier, healthier or freer in the history of the world, than right now, in an English speaking nation.
Society and humanity will climb higher and higher with every passing generation. This is the mythical force of social evolution which most people believe in. This can be seen in the writings of the likes of Nietsche. And it was as false when G.K.Chesterton and C.S.Lewis debunked it in the 1900s and 1950s as it is now. Empires rise and empires fall.
Now, Anglo - American Empire is teetering on the edge. We have lost much of what made us great. We could not achieve today what our ancestors achieved in, for example, the settling of the west (USA), the industrial revolution (China), or the Second World War. If people rediscover and re-embrace what made the Anglo-American Empire great, it may yet rise to new heights of greatness as yet undreamed of. If not, this empire, like every other empire before it, and there were many, will decline to be a footnote in history.
That is why, it is very important to identify some of the beliefs that shaped our ancestors lives, where most of them are lost by now.
So, has the Anglo-American Empire been a blessing or a curse on the world?
This question occurred when a very gifted speaker named Tony Campolo have spoken about all good Christian preachers and challenged everyone to have more than what they have. Tony Campolo is also known to be very entertaining, insightful and challenging. His ideas could be uncomfortable in process but infinitely rewarding.
Loving one's neighbor is the topic of Tony. He has used an anecdote to illustrate this. The anecdote deeply affected him and developed his passion to love the poor. He told the story about the time when he was in a third world country and was approached by three underage girls. They were earning a living as child street prostitutes. What he did was unlikely. He gave them money, allowed them to sleep in his hotel room, while eating ice cream and watching Disney movies. He was concerned though, that he only alleviated their suffering for a night. This was his cry to God and it stayed with him for many years.
He was pushed for World Vision child sponsorship, no doubt for its worthy goal.
If people from the US or UK would share some money from their spare change to help out the people from the third world countries, it would be a great impact on their lives. People who are living in the US or UK may sometimes believe that they are not that wealthy or blessed, but when compared to third world countries where child prostitution is rampant, they are actually lucky.
Where did this money come from? And where did the will to use it to make the world a better place come from?
We tend to knock on the British Empire and sometimes criticize the US attempts of intervening with international affairs. But this seems politically correct to do.
Yet it remains an historical fact that the average man in the street has never been better educated, better fed, wealthier, healthier or freer in the history of the world, than right now, in an English speaking nation.
Society and humanity will climb higher and higher with every passing generation. This is the mythical force of social evolution which most people believe in. This can be seen in the writings of the likes of Nietsche. And it was as false when G.K.Chesterton and C.S.Lewis debunked it in the 1900s and 1950s as it is now. Empires rise and empires fall.
Now, Anglo - American Empire is teetering on the edge. We have lost much of what made us great. We could not achieve today what our ancestors achieved in, for example, the settling of the west (USA), the industrial revolution (China), or the Second World War. If people rediscover and re-embrace what made the Anglo-American Empire great, it may yet rise to new heights of greatness as yet undreamed of. If not, this empire, like every other empire before it, and there were many, will decline to be a footnote in history.
That is why, it is very important to identify some of the beliefs that shaped our ancestors lives, where most of them are lost by now.
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