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Britney Spears of Nations
The world loves to watch the U.S. make a mess
The majority of my travels, which now include upwards of 50 countries, have taken place during the eight years since the current Bush administration took office. Much to my dismay, no matter where I go in the world, everyone wants to talk to me about George W. Irritating, as I didn't vote for him, and if the other person opens with a line suggesting his presidency has been a disaster from start to finish, I'll heartily agree. This generally cuts the amount of time we have to spend on the topic by half, though I'm usually quite tolerant of people who want to vent at a real American their anti-American sentiments.
But a recent argument I got into with a taxi driver in Montreal reminded me that as much as it's important to me to let people in other countries know that yes, some of us are aware of how U.S. policies affect the world and we're unhappy about it, the U.S. is not a punching bag for all of the world's ills.
First, let me say that it was unusual in a situation like this to bring up politics. In fact, avoiding the topics of sex, politics, and religion are, as a rule, the guideline for getting along with strangers when you travel (at least until you know each other a bit better). However, the taxi driver, who was Syrian by birth but had been living in Canada for seven years, started in on me right away, once it was established that I was American:
"You know, there are 500 children who die each day in Iraq from car bombs exploding in the streets."
But a recent argument I got into with a taxi driver in Montreal reminded me that as much as it's important to me to let people in other countries know that yes, some of us are aware of how U.S. policies affect the world and we're unhappy about it, the U.S. is not a punching bag for all of the world's ills.
First, let me say that it was unusual in a situation like this to bring up politics. In fact, avoiding the topics of sex, politics, and religion are, as a rule, the guideline for getting along with strangers when you travel (at least until you know each other a bit better). However, the taxi driver, who was Syrian by birth but had been living in Canada for seven years, started in on me right away, once it was established that I was American:
"You know, there are 500 children who die each day in Iraq from car bombs exploding in the streets."
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