My thoughts on “What is American Power?”

May 6th, 2010 by | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

What is American power?

American power truly influences the world.  When I travel abroad and stay with host families, I’ve found them watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, Desperate Housewives and the OC on television and listening to music by Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, and Jennifer Lopez.  They are fascinated by our cultural youth activities such as high school football games and prom when they see them on TV because they don’t exist in most countries around the world.  Corporations such as Apple created the coolest products for the world, as I see many people wearing white earbuds and proudly wearing an iPod on their arm as they walk down Champs-Elysee in Paris.  People around the world enjoy wearing shoes sporting a Nike logo on them and drinking Coca Cola.

While American power does spread exciting cultures that the foreigners embrace, American power does create some negative impact on the world.  Many corporations are creating a miserable life in China where Chinese factory workers are paid so little that they can’t have a decent home life. People living in the US are major contributors to climate change, as we are the biggest oil consumers,1 and many foreigners were angry when Bush refused to sign the Kyoto treaty on climate change in 2000.2

The most important thing is to remember is that we should not be thinking just about our country, but our world, as we are one of the most influential countries.

1 Comment

May 7, 2010 at 12:07 pm

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