Laura Nader one for the books

Hope is to collect wisdom of world, broaden perspective of readers

“Americans are ethnocentric — they don’t understand the rest of the world.” Laura Nader

WINSTED — Laura Nader came to Winsted last week to discuss “What the Rest Think of the West,” a collection of writings and commentary on the United States and the conception of the west by international thinkers.

Perspectives from four societal outlooks are offered in the book, as Nader detailed Friday — China, Japan, India and the Middle East, from 600 A.D. to the present.

Among other stories, Nader discussed Liang Qichao, a Chinese scholar who she said came to the United States and spoke with President Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, taking away the importance of strengthening the Chinese central government to guard against American advances.

Nader said she hopes the book broadens the perspective of readers, helping them consider American society from an outsider’s vantage point and encourage understanding of people from other places.

“(In) the West, and particularly I think our country, people don’t think that the other has anything to say that we could learn from,” said Nader. “And there’s a lot of wisdom that we can learn from, so I wanted to bring this book together, in their own words.”

Nader said she crafted the book, which was published in 2015, over the course of 25 years, as she waited for translations to be finished and made available.

The work is pertinent today, given the United States’ actions on the world stage, such as invading Iraq and Afghanistan and engaging in drone strikes, she said.

“We need that today, because more than ever, Americans are ethnocentric — they don’t understand the rest of the world. We invade countries we know nothing about. We think they’re all barbarians,” said Nader. “And there’s no self-criticism, so it’s very important we get some self-criticism... it’s to get people to look themselves in the mirror and look our country in the mirror, and learn where we should go from here if we are a great country.”

Nader said she learned to question the world around her from her parents, who encouraged her and her siblings to think critically.

“My father used to say, ‘Don’t tip your hat to anybody. You can learn from the King of England and the garbage collector,’ ” said Nader. “And that’s true.”

Nader offered her talk at the Winsted Community Bookstore, located at 414 Main St., which was launched in September 2016 with the blessing of Ralph Nader, Laura’s brother, and the Office of the Community Lawyer.

Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media Laura Nader discussed her book, “What the Rest Think of the West,” a collection of perspectives on the United States and the west by international thinkers, Friday in Winsted.