Number Ten: Al Jazeera

My satelitte TV in the flat that I am renting in Osh brings in many stations I wish I had access to in the US, including Al Jazeera. I think most Americans perceive this station as being of wild eyed broadcasters screaming Death to America every other sentence. Their broadcasts are very slick with a CNN format including some announcers who have American accents. Maybe even they are Americans! They obviously have a different slant on international news, and since we are the center of most action.....that includes their slant on us. Al Jazeera is heard, and respected, throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and probably most of the world except the US. We do not exercise censorship, but it is my understanding Al Jazeera is not allowed to broadcast in the US. And this is wrong. I think it is terribly important that people know how we are being perceived in most of the world. We are a good and generous nation and often people will say that it is our government they do not like....but that was mostly Bush's foreign policy. We will see what happens with Obama. But it remains we are negatively perceived throughout the world and it does not help that our TV programs they watch include such horrors as Jerry Springer. After a lecture today on civil society, I had a student talk to me after class that since he is a Muslim, he is in solidarity with his Muslim brothers we are killing in Iraq and Afghanistan....all with a sweet smile on his face as he is trying to be polite to this American visitor he has no quarrel with. I told him we have no quarrel with Muslims. That many Muslims are immigrating to the US and most recently a Muslim was sworn in as US Senator, putting his hand on the Koran for his swearing in. We are not killing his Muslim brothers, but the US is also in solidarity with many nations seeking peace as we fight against international terrorism that hurts everyone, including his Muslim brothers. Thinking that not a bit of this sinks in. He continues to smile,shakes my hand, thanks me for coming to his country and his class.....and quietly walks away. I doubt I made a difference.