Image

Our Secretary of State has visited the country where our President spent his formative years and announced that the image of the United States needs to be improved in Muslim countries. These are the countries that spawn suicide bombers, deny women’s rights, prohibit any religious beliefs except their own, seem incapable of any form government except dictatorship and theocracy, cut people’s hands off for minor offenses, and deny both the Holocaust and Israel’s right to exist. This wonderful record indicates to our Administration that it is the United States that needs to improve its image.
Certainly it would be good if the USA had a stellar history and image to portray to the world. But the price of improving this image is the real question. She pledged a new American openness to ideas from abroad, especially the Muslim world. Are the ideas we should be open to about suicide bombers, or women’s rights? She also announced that more development aid was on the way to these countries. With the US domestic economy in its current condition, it makes sense to the administration to send additional aid to an oil exporting country to improve our image. When the tsunami hit the first aid given was by the US; I missed all the Iranian aid to New Orleans.
The images I do remember are the pictures published shortly after 9/11. The pictures were of millions of people in the streets of various Muslim cities celebrating 9/11. Of course, this was before the media determined that Islam was the religion of peace. It was when every TV station was showing panel discussions which invariably included the imam saying: “it is very sad but you must remember that Israel…”
The image that most needs to be corrected is not that of the USA.