A World View

A German man, reading the Japan Times, is enjoying an article entitled, "Bush gets Worst Actor Award" (at the Razzies.) He criticizes the president and tells me, "Americans think they are the only country in the world."

Then, the German shows me an article indicating that a Japanese group is arging over the wording on statue. He says that Japan also has its right wing, nationalist element. "In the United States, people call Bush a fascist. Do you think Bush is fascist?" The German says, "We should be careful with words. Bush is not fascist."

I remember that prior to taking office, our president had not been outside the United States. Do the people who voted for Bush visit other countries? Hostellers travel the world, but do Bush supporters? Anders, chimes in diplomatically. "In Sweden and the rest of Europe, you ride your bike to a different country. The United States is a much bigger place. It is understandable that people in the United States do not know much about other countries."

I suggest that the United States government does not represent the views of its people. Rather, the government represents the multinational corporations. I point to the front page headline of the Japan Times, "United Nations Tobacco Treaty to go into effect Sunday." This news will get little or no play in the United States, just as ratification was not reported. (The article points out that all major countries of the world, except those controlled by multinational corporations or with strong tobacco farming industries, voted to ratify this treaty. The article also points out that tobacco is the cause of death for half its users. The article does not point out that the treaty standardizes the types of warning labels and restrictions on advertising that are already in effect in the United States, and that the United States sites "corporate rights" as a reason for its opposition to the treaty.)

I think about my hostelling experience, which has been mostly in California. Though politics comes up regularly in conversation, and people have strong feelings about the president, I haven't met a single hosteller who agrees with the president's war policies. I have met people from the UK, France, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, South Korea and Canada. Several of these countries are politically aligned with the United States. No one is happy with the president of the United States. The most vocal anti-Bush hostellers come from the United States.

To me, the key issue is whether Americans know about themselves. The Japan Times offers, "all the news without fear or favor". International papers report American news. Unless Americans make a special effort, we see only the reports that corporations want highlighted.