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Summary Of Jihad Vs Mcworld

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In the article, Jihad versus McWorld author Benjamin Barber describes opposing forces that are directly impacting democracy. On one side, which he calls Jihad, refers to religious communities that have been aggravated by the American-dominated economy, and the other, McWorld, the consumer-based capital global economy that separates people from their own beliefs to regulate their own norms. This directly ties to the two stories A Poland, a Lithuania, a Galicia and My Son the Fanatic because in those stories there are opposing sides, the sons who fight for their religious beliefs and their parents can't seem to understand their sons strong views. The sons can be seen as the Jihad of the situation, while their parents could be considered the …show more content…
With these conflicting sides of child and parent(s), there's no surprise that there's tension between them. In both stories, Ali and Baruch view their parent(s) involvement in modern/western civilization as a problem. They both chastise their parents for their behavior; Ali for his father's drinking and Baruch for his parent's inconsistencies with their religion. Since, Jihad is driven by "parochial hatreds" and aims to "re-create subnational and ethnic borders from within" (Barber); relating to jihad Ali and Baruch seem to have a very narrow-minded viewpoint on what they accept as divine; they seem to have a stern mindset that anything going outside their religion is sinful (wrong). Baruch feels his parents pick and choose what they believe in and they aren't solely committed to the law of God (408). Baruch's parents feel that that he is taking his beliefs to the extremes. Clearly, the opposing opinions causes strained feelings. Baruch even has a little spat with his mother over dish racks and how porcelain sinks aren't kosher without them (413). He even infers that his mother isn't a "good person" because of her non-kosher sinks and insists that if she wants to consider herself a real Jew that its "non-negotiable" to use dish racks (Marvis 414). His father even feels that he's a know-it-all and has been thoroughly persuaded …show more content…
When Parvez catches his son praying (multiple times a day) it causes some unease, because Parvez has avoided all religion due to a childhood experience (70); but nonetheless, he wants to understand and talk to his son about his beliefs (71). But, the calm conversation doesn't last long and the tension between father and son continues to build. "If the global future is to pit Jihad’s centrifugal whirlwind against McWorld’s centripetal black hole, the outcome is unlikely to be democratic", (Barber). The first fight between father and son happens when Ali reprimands his father for his drinking.
Each time Parvez took a drink, the boy made, as an accompaniment, some kind of wince or fastidious face. This made Parvez drink more quickly. The waiter, wanting to please his friend, brought another glass of whisky. Parvez knew he was getting drunk, but he couldn't stop himself. Ali had a horrible look, full of disgust and censure. It was as if he hated his father (Kureish 72).
But, the tension between father and son completely boils over when Parvez beats up his son to no avail at the end of the story (76). Parvez couldn't take his son's changes anymore; his smart mouth, or his judgments any longer. "He wouldn't stand for his own son telling him the difference between right and wrong (Kureishi 72). In both stories, the conflicts/differing viewpoints between son and parent goes

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