Island Nation
Island Nation
Chloe Sullivan 16/12/2015
The Metropolitan Times -- UK Online Edition
According to Mr Luthor 'every man is an island and every island a nation' ('The Rise of Leadership', Alexander Luthor 2015), and although I tend to agree, I find myself asking why. Surely, some men (and women) are, like Mr Luthor, rich enough and powerful enough to be able to live as 'island nations' but what about the rest of us? What about the cleaners of this world, and the taxi cab drivers? What about the veiled women of Afghanistan and their poverty condemned children? What about the inhabitants of The Holy Mary Orphanage who live in utter squalor just three minutes drive from Mr Luthor's latest business development in Metropolis? Can these, oftentimes deprived and poverty stricken, people ever afford to live as 'nations'? The answer is, quite strangely, yes.
Poverty and depravity have, for a long time, been considered as factors for segregation, and many scholars including Lang (in her 2010 thesis 'Nationalism and Global Politicking') have even gone as far as making them a necessary component of segregation. 'Poverty', according to Lang, 'is the cause of segregation which is also the cause of nationalism and racism,' and therefore 'we can assume that if poverty were eradicated, segregation, nationalism and racism would also vanish'.
This view is, admittedly, simplistic and does not take into account such root causes as education, political participation and sexism, which all affect segregation in some way. However, Lang's thesis does tend toward answering these questions. Just as without poverty we would not have segregation; without poverty we would not have any other inequality. Women would receive the same education as men, and be able to apply for the same jobs without the fear of an enforced Maternity Leave (that, according to a recent study conducted by The Times and Metropolis University, is the most common way that struggling businesses force out females in the workplace). Parents would also, without poverty, be able to make better informed choices about school, university and health options. And, most importantly, as poverty is eradicated, more and more individuals would be able to interact with others without the fear of robbery and assault. In a sentence, the eradication of poverty could lead to the once-mythical notion of a Utopian State instead of Luthor's 'Island Nations'. However, is this feasible? In a bid to answer this question, I went to Mr Luthor directly at his offices in Harvard University where he is currently undertaking his PhD in Social Normalisation.
'In order to create a Utopia within the US we shall need to completely destroy the infrastructure of the current state,' Mr Luthor explained. 'This means a complete overhaul of government, education, health and defence strategies. Although theoretically possible, these four factors are linked so completely that no US citizen may ever be able to complete the task.' When asked if, this implies that a non-US citizen would be able to achieve such a complete change of state, Mr Luthor said enigmatically. 'Some of the most memorable leaders have not belonged to the state that they so irrevocably changed. Hitler was Austrian, Gandhi was South African, and Jesus himself was Palestinian.'
'However, these cases are rare. It usually takes far more than good leadership to keep control of a state that is not yours, so to speak. For instance, Hitler needed the unconditional support of ethnically pure Germans to support his radically nationalist policies, while Gandhi surrounded himself with Indian nationalists. So, in my opinion, if someone not of the US does, one day, take power and achieve a utopian state, he or she would have to be either incredibly well networked or the next Messiah.'
Therefore, leading up to the US presidential elections, as Mr Clark Kent, formerly of the Metropolis newspaper 'The Daily Planet', hopes to make history as the only non-human to have ever run for US president, we hope he takes note. It takes far more than heroism and promises of utopia to unite a fragmented people. Courage, the ability to think beyond the pale, and a genuine love of the US is required. Ironically, this may mean that Mr Kent may also need to become an 'island' within the political community, to achieve his aims.
CSullivan@met.co.uk