Americans in Trouble!

As shocking as the attacks in India were this weekend, what was even more shocking was the way the media executed the stories. I was flipping the channels for about an hour this thursday trying to get some solid information about the events that were occuring; however, I could only get information on how many Americans were captured, if the American diplomats were safe, and new tips on American tourism spots for visiting countries where bombings and slaughters happened frequently. What was surprising to me was that there were at least 300 other people wounded, and over 150 killed who were not American, and I didn't find this out until much later. What happened to the other tourists and citizens from different countries? Do they get any mention in the news, or do we just care about ourselves? It really inspired me to think critically about the media and its biases for our people, rather than thinking of everyone else in the world.

Reputation

In Response to Gitmo being a "blot on america's reputation" on our teacher's blog, it seems like a lot of things that we do as a country blot our reputation. In fact, I don't even remember a time where our country didn't have an iffy reputation across the globe. From the Iraq war, to neglecting the Kyoto protocol, to the staggeringly low approval rating of our current president, Gitmo (etc, etc); it seems that we don't look very good in the eyes of the world.
Last summer, I stayed with european host familes for a month in 5 different countries. It seemed like every time I would introduce my self and said where I was from I either got blank stares, a sigh, or an "I'm sorry" in return. (I thought it was kind of funny.) And every time America was brought up in a conversation, my host familes always mentioned George Bush and the War on Terror; in which case I would express my disagreement in his policies. After that response, everything was cool; the american government wouldn't be brought up again for the remainder of my stay.
But seriously, has it always been like this? Was there a time when we had a good image? When?
I'm not sure, but I hope that with the new president-elect, that we will repair this shattered image.