I rarely see anyone make this issue a two way street to
gaining a mutual understanding of all of our differences.
Why would anyone posting here make that an issue? What would be the point? Are there people reading this board who is so steeped in Islamic culture that they need to get the message that it is foolhardy to ignorantly look at everything through the prism of their own culture, to oversimplify the issues, to complain when their own media provide information and insight rather than propaganda and feel good messages? While it's impossible to be sure about lurkers, it's unlikely we have anyone here who has been brainwashed by Al Jazeera to whom to deliver that particular message. OTOH, we have a lot of people here who seem prepared to have the American people brainwashed lest real information challenge our monolithic and blind support of the Administration. (A tad of dramatic license, there. <g>)
No, we let them stereotype & perceive that the US is
the "evil empire", forcing its will upon other nations
without mentioning how that might be a serious problem.
We don't "let them" do any such thing. They do it themselves. We do what we do and they react to it however they react to it. We have control over what we do. We have no control over how they react, perhaps a tad of influence, but no control. We can bitch about it, but can't do anything about it other than support international PR efforts by our government and behave ourselves when we're observable by foreigners.
How dare we offend the
sensibilities of some other country?
I don't see what offending anyone has to do with it. It's about intel. We need all the intel we can get. So do they. So does everyone. Being informed is a Good Thing, not a Bad Thing. If it makes you feel better, I'll add the PC caveat to each post that what I'm saying applies equally to both sides, whether the other side is around to see it or not. <g> |
