""And
yet, Said’s theoretical approach in the course left Obama cold.” Remnick then
quotes a friend of Obama’s who also took the course: “My whole thing, and Barack
had a similar view, was that we would rather read Shakespeare’s plays than the
criticism. Said was more interested in the literary theory, which didn’t appeal
to Barack or me.” According to Remnick, the young Obama referred to Said as a
“flake.”
[...]
[...]
You
may know that Said’s three most influential books are Orientalism,
Covering Islam, and Culture
and Imperialism, all
of which deal with Western stereotypes and caricatures of the Orient and of
Islam, of Arabs and Persians.
[...]
But
is it too much to ask of anyone concerned with our Middle Eastern policy to read
Said’s trilogy—that is, before they encourage a military attack on Iran by
proxies—be they French, Israeli, British, or Saudi Arabian? Wouldn’t it be truly
audacious if Barack Obama, class of 1983, had done a close enough reading of the
three Orientalism texts—with their subtext of humiliation endured by
colonized peoples—to cite them as a reason for his praiseworthy reluctance to
move from sanctions to violence? That before he wasted one more life, one more
dollar in Islamic Afghanistan, Obama showed some interest in his old professor
instead of reading the dubious Robert Kagan? And furthermore, that the president
of the United States consider following the fine example of the president of
Columbia University and be willing to meet with Iran’s, shall we say, flaky,
President Ahmahdinejad? After all, Obama has already visited another
religiously intolerant abettor or terrorists and officially anti-Israel head of
state, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia."
