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Charles Jaco has written opinion and commentary pieces for dozens of magazines and newspapers. Each week, read and comment on a fresh on-line version. The discussion page enables you to share your view points world wide. If you would like to make a comment go to the " Join the discussion" link below. If you would like to view past editorials visit the Editorial Archive.
Editorial: 2/3/2000 Souvlaki, Zorba, and Greek mythology. That pretty well sums up the average
American's knowledge of Greece, and that's what I told the obviously disappointed Greek
newspaper reporter when he asked me what the average American thinks about Greece and
it's relationship with its neighbors like Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, and
what's-left-of-Yugoslavia.
He was disappointed because the average Greek knows a great deal about the United
States. A group of Greek professors, businessmen, and doctors and I spent a memorable
evening over ouzo and grilled fish talking about the finer points of the Bush, Gore,
Bradley, and McCain campaigns. An Athens newspaper devoted two pages to a state-by-state
analysis of where in the U.S. juveniles can be tried as adults.
I have had Cuban teenagers ask me why the terms of the 435 members of the House are
only two years. I have talked with interested Italians about the unique relationship
between the states and Washington in a Federal system. Syrians know about the
Microsoft anti-trust suit. Sudanese have spoken to me about bio-technology and genetic
engineering firms like Monsanto. Sri Lankans know Puff Daddy and Madonna.
We have become the world. Our military projects power across the planet. Our
companies and technology drive the World Wide Web. Our language is spoken by air
traffic controllers and pilots everywhere. Our pop culture pervades every corner
of the earth. Kids from Katmandu to Khartoum wear American clothes, listen to American
hip-hop, and devour American fads. From the big cities of Asia to bush hamlets in
Africa, people drink Coca-Cola, fly Boeing air frames, use Microsoft Windows, watch
American movies and TV shows, and shudder at every political or social tremor from the
Capitol of the World.
And we respond by being the biggest collection of self-absorbed boobs this side
of Marlon Brando in "The Ugly American". Our ignorance of things outside the 12-mile
limit off our coasts is breathtaking. Blessed with peace, prosperity, power, and
a world-wide reach, we act like spoiled, selfish brats.
We have elected a Congress where most of the members don't carry valid U.S.
passports. We have elected an Administration whose overseas concerns are only about
money, whether profits for U.S. corporations or campaign cash. We have put Jesse
Helms, that august senator from the Confederate States of America, in charge of the
Senate Foreign Relations committee. We chortle every time some isolationist in
Congress mutters about cutting money for our embassies. Foreign aid and embassy
security takes up around one per-cent of the entire Federal budget. But it's a good
target, especially since it allows us to grumble about those smelly little brown
foreigners.
If self-absorbtion becomes an Olympic event, they might as well just mail us the
gold medal. Like it our not, the world is all around you. You can log off of this
site and jump to a chat room in Germany with a mouse click. Check the labels of the
clothes you're wearing. Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Mexico are what mine read. That
American car of yours--assembled in Mexico, possibly, with about 40 per-cent Canadian
parts. Your BMW? Maybe made in Alabama. That Mercedes? Could have been made
in South Carolina. That Nissan over there? Tennessee.
The earth does not end at the Continental Shelf. Whether you disagreed with the
bombing of Serbia, or think little Elian Gonzalez should be back with his dad in Cuba,
you probably didn't do much about it. As long as most Americans remain blissfully
ignorant of everything beyond our borders, U.S. governments and corporations will be
free to do just about what they please overseas.
We can't be bothered to think about it. Besides, our stock portfolio's doing
fine and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire's coming on.
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