November 6 Post

1a)  "Fourteen-year old 'Marji,' wearing Nike shoes and a jean jacket with a Michael Jackson button...she is stopped by the morals police who threaten to imprison her for her unacceptably Western appearance...The last panel shows her in her room dancing and singing along to Kim Wilde's "We're the Kids in America" to calm her nerves" (Naghibi, 235).

1b)  Dad: "They've occupied the U.S. embassy."
.......
Dad:  "You're not interested?"
Mom:  "I couldn't care less.  Anyway, the Americans are dummies."
Dad:  "Maybe, but now no one can go to the United States."

2.  I find the "I hate but still need the United States" mentality to be particularly interesting.

3.  These two passages I find to be particularly interesting because I feel they perfectly embody the majority of the world's less than approving view on America.  What strikes me as key to this issue is that it calls attention to these countries' need for the United States as well, which many people refuse to acknowledge.   Many nations around the world, especially in the Middle East and liberal European countries are highly critical of the United States, thinking that we are ignorant, lazy bullies.  Yet what nobody has the critical thought to bring up is just how reliant they are on us, and whenever something bad happens, the U.S. is the first place they come running to for help.

The first passage illustrates just how much impact the U.S. has in the world.  A young Marji dresses like American youth and listens to American music, even singing the pop song "We're the Kids in America."  She finds relief in American culture and music, a symbolic representation for the United States, from the the brutal and disastrous government of her own country.  The second passage is key to this notion as well.  Her father and mother dislike the United States, even calling it a dummy, yet are still troubled by the fact that they cannot travel to it now.  If it were such a bad place, why do Marji's parents care that they cannot travel there.  I believe the answer to this question to be jealousy.

Now it is time for a brief real world example.  When the United States interferes in global conflict, we are regarded as bullies who need to "butt out," such as the conflicts in Vietnam, Somalia and Iraq.  However, when we stay out of conflicts people cry out "Where is the U.S.?" such as in Egypt and Syria.  It is a lose-lose situation, yet it does in fact provide solid evidence that the world does rely on us for many things, even if they claim to not need or like us.

In conclusion, these two passages illustrate the point that the negative esteem the United States is held in by the world is hypocritical because there is a strong dependence on this country by the rest of the world.