US PR blitz

There is no doubt that the US has taken an image hit abroad -- what with the Bush Administration's unilateralist tendencies, opposition to just about every bilateral treaty on the books. Then there's the constant belligerance, beating of the war drums, one-sided "peacemaking" in the Middle East, attempted overthrow of democratically elected governments (Venezuela), ridiculous vendettas (Hussein and Castro), simple-minded rhetoric ('axis of evil'), support for undemocratic governments (Egypt, Saudi Arabia), etc., etc. I could go on, but you get the point.

So, how to fix this problem? If you're an enlightened leader, you could work within the framework of international institutions (such as the UN) to work together with other nations, pooling resources in the pursuit of the common good. The US could be a true mediator in international conflicts, maintaining more than a sembleance of neutrality.

Here's a crazy idea -- the next time a treaty banning torture makes its way through the UN, the US shouldn't try to derail it.

Heck, endorsing peace might do the trick.

But the Bush Administration can't be bothered by all that. So it created its own internal Public Relations agency to handle the task.

One think tank report concluded that:

Around the world, from Western Europe to the Far East, many see the United States as arrogant, hypocritical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and contemptuous of others.

True, true. Truer words were never said. But PR isn't going to fix this problem. The US under Bush is arrogant, hypocritical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and contemptuous of others. And no amount of press releases or propaganda broadcasts can ever cover that up.

Posted July 31, 2002 09:10 AM | Comments (1)