The International Community

I believe Americans should become more aware of international events.

A typical American will sit there and tell you how amazing of a country America is. A typical American, will actually never have left the country, so one must ponder the question, how do you know?

America may be the land opportunity for many, but we should consider that it doesn’t make us superior to others. And in fact, the events that go on outside our country shape the events that happen here. If the price of oil in the Middle East skyrockets, its going to have some seriously drastic effects on us. If a war starts involving one of our allies, it’s our job to support and stand by them.

Case in point, the recent unrest in the Middle East, specifically Libya. Muammar Gadhafi was the rule or Libya for almost 40 years, and he may have stimulated the countries economy, but at the same to he chronically oppressed his people. President Obama agreed to support the rebels by sending supplies and the UN sanctioned air strikes. Most people, hopefully, where aware. But on at least one occasion, I’ve brought up the name Gadhafi and people have looked at me like, “HA WHOSE THAT?” It’s just confusing to me, we where basically involved in another war, and some people were just blissfully unaware.

It can be difficult at times, understandably. Not every foreign headline is interesting. Not everyone is interested in the Danish parliament elections, but at times its definitely worth noting certain things. Its frustrating that when something big or important does occur in another country, I have no one to discuss it with, because no one seems to grasp the urgency or it. I understand that it isn’t your country, but it is someone’s, and we need to be open minded about these things.

Many people complain about the accessibility of finding news from other nations, and this isn’t really a hard thing either, when there are networks like Al- Jazeera, and English language network that reports on the middle east, and another English language news show in Russia (whose name I don’t remember.) So in the end, if you do want to be involved in the international community, all you need to do is reach out, and be enlightened.