Thomas Friedman has written about a new phenomenon, a new view of the United States from abroad that is not flattering. I won't steal his thunder, but I actually had a much earlier, similar experience in about 2003 though I could be off by a year. I was on a business trip to Taiwan and our hosts took me out for dinner to one of the biggest buffet-style "mix and match" restaurants I have ever seen. All the choices and ingredients were raw and fresh, you chose the individual items, then they were prepared and brought to your table. The selection was huge, like a large farmer's market.
Anyway, as we sat down at our table the primary host from the company we were working with sat down across from me and asked (in impeccable English since English classes are mandatory from elementary school onward)..."Why did you elect such a stupid President?".
People in other countries tend to look up to the US, and are disappointed/dismayed when they perceive that something "stupid" is happening, which is part of the theme of Friedman's column.
As for me...I foolishly started down the road of pointing out that the American people had NOT actually elected the "stupid president", but then that led to how the Supreme Court in supposedly the greatest democracy in the world had "appointed" a president.
Fortunately, just when it was getting really confusing (and embarrassing)...the food arrived!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment, but keep it on topic, factual, and please show some thought. Anything else will be deleted.
Anonymous comments are also deleted, unread unless you notify me in advance of your pseudonym and give me verifiable contact information.