Oh, Dear Gods

I finally got my computer working correctly (I managed to get the OS on, but then it would go to pieces on reboot; now everything's okay, and I still don't know what the issue was, but I'm happy to report I'm back).

So, I'm catching up on my e-mail between blowing my nose (I've caught a nasty cold) and I came across this via LISNews.

North Korean students learning hate from The Diary of Anne Frank.

The system there has totally turned the message of the diary on its head in a propaganda that discredits Frank as a heroine (they do not respect her because she was killed, so therefore they see her as a 'loser'). They are told that the Americans are all Nazis, our prisons are concentration camps, and that they must always expect war so long as we exist. They compare George W. Bush to Hitler--granted, I dislike him, but that's a bit harsh.

I know that none of us live in a bias-free world. A lot of people don't like Americans, and frankly, I can understand, since there are a lot more 'Ugly Americans' here than elsewhere. But...

I love living here. As much as I complain at times at what I see as our freedoms being impinged, I realise how fortunate I am. I may worry about my gay friends' right to marry. In some countries they'd be put to death just for loving one another. I may worry about the government restricting access to the Internet. In some countries, you'd have to look very hard to find anyone who could either afford or would be allowed to surf.

It's not all rosy here, of course. Our society tends to recognise wealth over ethinicity in terms of haves and have-nots, but even our poor are wealthy compared to some in other countries. We don't have good systems for dealing with poverty or lack of health insurance, but there are avenues for those in need, whereas in some places people would just be left to rot in the streets. We've built a country on the backs of slave labour and the lands of indigenous peoples, with no realistic way to give restitution, but we're struggling to make things better. We have crazies with guns, but they really are in the minority, despite what people abroad think.

The average American worries about his family, about paying his bills, keeping a roof over his head, trys to better his position through a career, wonders how he'll pay for his kid's college or deal with a medical crisis, etc. It doesn't seem to matter how rich or poor a person is, the worries are the same as a lot of other people through the world. Now, he's lucky in that he doesn't have to pay for primary or secondary education, but then there are a lot of people who have lost confidence in the public schools system, and many, if they can, opt to scrape money together for private schooling. Since we generally have two-income families far flung from the extended family these days, child care costs mount up quickly.

Most Americans aren't that political. A lot never bother to use their constitutional right to vote, which is sad seeing as there are so many people througout the world who don't even have that chance. We don't want to send our young people off to war and often curse our leaders who do so. If you asked the average American about people overseas, he'd probably say we should just take care of our own and leave them to theirs. Let's face it, it's easy to be isolationist when your own borders are relatively stable. I have never understood how shocked some people were by the terror of the Oklahoma City bombings and 9/11. I guess it's because it's been so long since wars were fought here. We live in a global world, and have for a long time. But a lot of people don't think globally at all.

I really think that the key to living in a global world is to educate ourselves about other cultures, work to establish peace, and learn to see the similarities between peoples rather than just the differences. Granted, it might be naïve of me to think so, but I think there are a lot more people in the world who would support peace than war. It's a shame that those children are learning so much that is just not grounded in reality, and even more of a shame that a book that has brought so many cultures together is being used to do it.