Said's Orientalism

Said's Orientalism can be defined by the idea of the West promoting a sense of difference between our society and that of the Middle to Far East. By thinking this way, the West had and has the means to dominate the region in a political, social, and economic sense. The Middle East and other regions that create the area that Said talks about are seen as being at a sort of lower and less developed level of civilization than the European countries and the United States. To him, the West sees the region as simply being incapable on all ends in comparison to Western society. The idea of Orientalism came about when European countries began to take control of the "Oriental" region with both political and economic goals. Since then, the West has continued to use and, in a sense, abuse this region with constant exploitation. Now, with so-called postcolonialism, the West is trying to detach itself from the idea of imperialism. People have recognized this idea of Orientalism and have criticized it on its ill-treatment of the region that seemingly makes up a large portion of the world.

I still think that we have an Orientalist mindset today, and to me, this is definitely not good. However, I don't think that it stems from the region itself and what it "lacks" in comparison to the West. I think that the main reason for today's Orientalism (which, don't get me wrong, can still be tied back to the original sense) is a sense of Western hunger for supremacy rather than looking more at the Middle East and Far East's "flaws". Donald Trump comes to mind. Why do we need to make America "great" again? Why can't we just be America. Also, there is a lot of emphasis on idea that America is the perfect country. Our rampant patriotism is becoming a flaw that singles us out and only points at our need for supremacy over others.