Speaking of Peace...

Gallup polls show that we're only happy when we think we're kicking somebody's ass. And what's more, we think the rest of the world also responds favorably when we do.

This first graph depicts how well satisfied we are with our own country's image. We were steadily becoming dissatisfied after the 9/11 attacks, but we got happy when we invaded Iraq in March of 2003. Of course, when it turned out we really didn't kick Iraqi ass so much, we began to become dissatisfied again.

Click to enlarge graphs

This second graph shows how we think the rest of the world perceives us. We think they looked upon us favorably before 9/11, and that thereafter we began to lose favor. However, there was a moment shortly after we "took" Baghdad that we figured they liked us again. And then we began to think everybody else lost their sense of awe - for the same reason we became dissatisfied with ourselves no doubt.

We get off on war obviuosly. Is it any wonder the chickenhawks in Washington are thinking some action in Iran is just what they need?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Putting Out the Not-Welcome Mat

America's declining image is driving away tourists, according to the Discover America Partnership, an organization sponsored by the tourism industry. "We have lost nearly 60 million international travelers since 9/11 and the problem is only getting worse," said DAP Executive Director Geoff Freeman.

[...]

When travelers don’t come here, they learn about America and Americans through headlines rather than personal experiences. As a nation, we must recognize that the people-to-people communication generated through travel is our greatest public diplomacy tool."

  PR Watch article

Oh, yeah? We don't want 'em here anyway.

Remember when wingers used to challenge you in your face with, "If America's so bad, how come everybody wants to come here?!"

If you haven't left the country and tried to come back in (particularly through Miami), you might not know that citizens coming back home (even cuacasions) from overseas and cross border trips are having some pretty unpleasant experiences as well.

A quick post from Mexico

I'm trying to read the news and answer emails in between preparing and teaching classes, and it's kind of tight. As it is, I'm up early and in bed after midnight every night. But the major problem is the lack of dinero. At least for now. I'm learning how to pinch pesos, and my method at this point is to download news pages I might post on here at YWA, read them at home, create a post, and come back to the cafe to post them. That means my posts won't be as timely as I'd like, and so I'm thinking it might eventually mean I stop posting while I'm here (at least a year).

We'll see.

You don't need tomorrow's news today, especially when there are so many other good blogs and sources.

For now, I want to tell you that in one class I have two ten-year olds who know only a few words in English. After about a half hour of the first class, the little boy asked me why America was fighting Iraq.

Hey, we all want to know.