The Oblivious Empire

I agree with what Mark Hertsgaard is saying in his essay. I know very little about what is going on in different countries. I do read the paper and watch the news but they can only tell me the governments side of the story. I try and stay updated with the news so that I can form my own opinions, but if I only hear what the government is saying then of course I end up siding with America. I truly beleived that the Middle Eastern countries hated us because of our power and our freedom. I never once stopped to think that that was exactly what I was being fed by the news. In the essay it describes the amount of economic sanctuations that we inflict on other countries and then it states how many of us, Americans, are aware of this. It just proves that I am very uneducated about our foreign policy. It is freightening to read about the problems that we are causing around the world.

Under th Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.

The essay reinterated what Babel proved. It showed how a single situation can affect people throughout the world. In Babel, the American getting shot was displayed on the news in three different countries. Somehow that surprises me. I wouldn't think people from another country would care about what is going on in America. The essay describes how many of the items that we consider to be American, aren't so American afterall. Examples include: levi jeans, coca cola products, and Disney characters. These items are often manufactured in other countries like France, China, and Mexico. I know that whenever I talk to a foreigner, I ask questions like: "Do you'll have TGI Fridays?" It turns out that other countries are not so different afterall. In the essay Gitlin makes a point that Americans get rap, dance, and a lot of other entertainment from Africa. Our countries are alike in many ways. Across the globe we all have a demand for the same things. No matter what country we might be from people from the same age group probably value similar items. In other words no matter where you are from we all speak the same language when it comes to economics.