America's Image
About ten years ago, my daughters befriended an exchange student from the Czech Republic who was attending their high school. Voijta was highly intelligent, incredibly witty, and made a fun addition to their group of friends. He spent many an evening with our family, asking about life in America and sharing vignettes about life in his country. One evening, the conversation turned to what life was like when my husband and I were teenagers. Imagine our surprise when he told us that everyone in this country who lived through the 1960s and 70s were pot smoking, protesting hippies who burned the flag and believed in free love. We thought he was kidding. He was not. He was totally convinced that this stereotype was true, and even showing him pictures of my husband with a crew cut and in a Marine Corps uniform could not shake the "truth" as he saw it. His perception had been molded by Hollywood. Television shows and movies that focused on the counterculture had shaped his perception of U.S. history during the Vietnam era. He had no clue that there was another America during this time. So consider the daunting task facing Karen Hughes, newly appointed Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy. Her job is to repair America's image abroad - quite a challenge when you consider that most of the world believes all American teens live as they do on Beverly Hills 90210 and that the greatest aspiration of American youth is to go club-hopping with Paris Hilton. Rehabilitating America's image to comport with reality would be a daunting task all by itself, but consider how much more challenging this mission is when such images are reinforced by other sources - whether the allegations are true or false. Terrorists know the power of sensational allegations. Rule 18 in the al Qaeda training manual states that, when captured, terrorists must "complain to the court of mistreatment while in prison" and claim that "torture was inflicted on them." But these people hardly need a manual to help solidify their demonization of America. Other incidents have helped them mightily. The disgusting frat house behavior of American soldiers at Abu Ghraibe outraged and humiliated all Americans. We know that this is not how American soldiers act - but if anyone does, he or she deserves to be punished. Unfortunately, Muslims who saw images of their brethren stacked in humiliating poses and being treated (literally) like dogs had their negative perceptions of America confirmed. Never mind that American perpetrators of prisoner abuse were brought to trial and punished. The images that flew through the airwaves further damaged our reputation in the Muslim world. Then there was the Newsweek story of alleged Koran abuse. In a country where the Christian crucifix can be planted in a jar of urine and called "art," people were outraged that guards at Guantanamo Bay allegedly abused the Muslim holy book. After a three week investigation, it was found that more "abuse" of the Koran had occurred among the prisoners (15 incidents) than the guards (5 incidents). But by then, and after Newsweek's retraction of the story, 16 people had been killed in anti-American rioting, and the "truth" of American desecration of the Muslim holy book is now accepted in the Muslim world. The same goes for the remarks from Senator Durbin, assistant minority leader in the U.S. Senate, who likened the actions of American military personnel to that of the Nazis, Pol Pot, and the Soviet gulags. Never mind that while these regimes caused the deaths of over 13 million people, not one enemy combatant was killed at Guantanamo Bay. The perception of American soldiers as bloodthirsty renegades was reinforced in the Muslim world when Al-Jazeera prominently posted Durbin's remarks. Oh yes, he issued a belated "apology" - but the truth gets lost in the myth. It seems like some people are actively looking for incidents to confirm their hatred for America, and America only. There was no outcry in the Muslim world when Robert Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe, bulldozed a mosque earlier this month. Ben Franklin spoke the truth when he said that "Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended." It's too bad that we lost track of Voijta over the years. I'd be interested in his views on America now. But then again, since the image of American created by Hollywood is one of violence, material greed, and debased moral values, I'm afraid I already know. Karen Hughes has her work cut out for her. -Cheri Pierson Yecke, Ph.D., is Distinguished Senior Fellow for Education and Social Policy at the Center of the American Experiment. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted. |
Cheri Pierson Yecke