|
... was basically advertising -- and that everything would be solved if other countries could learn what nice people Americans were, and how they were helping the rest of the world ... I remember thinking that as usual they'd gotten it turned around.
First, one has to have really great stuff to tell people about! And not have a whole bunch of nasty secrets to sweep under the rug, because that would completely negate the good things. A big shiny public relations machine can only run on BS for so long. When other nations look at the US and see flawed elections, corporations run amok, and increasing numbers of poor desperate Americans, the thought crosses our minds that Bush's habit of going around saying "Do as we say, little countries -- not as we do" is not a good idea. Lots of countries looked up to the US, a half-century ago (and still do) -- even countries that are now viewed with suspicion, like Cuba and Iran. It was the thought of honesty and good government, and the willingness to take the side of the downtrodden, that inspired people to want to do things "like America". (The Iranians trusted the Americans more than they did the British and their Empire.) I think it says something that many people still find the US attractive, even in societies where most of the population are under the age of 25, and have no direct memory of the US liberating Europe and initiating the Marshall Plan, and other attempts to make life better for others. I still think that this worldwide respect and admiration can be salvaged. Indeed, the American people themselves took the first step, with the elections earlier this month.
|