Yesterday I had the opportunity to be reamed for my opinions about the current state of affairs. It was a sorry little conversation that got out of hand before it even started. Actually, now that I think about it, I never did get to share my opinions . . . my opinions were inserted for me.

“You’re part of the vast right wing conspiracy!”

Whoa. What?

“Uh, hi, I’m actually somewhere in the middle, but if you are way on the left, I suppose I do look like I’m on the right . . . you know from a physical perspective and all.”

My attempt at cheeky humor fell flat. It was like walking into a field with landmines.

It is unfortunate that our political discourse has devolved to the point that folks scream at each other. But perhaps the most offensive bit I get from those who believe me to be right yet wrong . . . they vindicate themselves with the “fact” that the rest of the world disagrees with America.

Really?

In my travels I get to speak with ordinary people in developing countries and I get to speak with folks in well developed countries. Here’s what I have seen.

Ordinary folks have a perception about our president (whomever that is at the time) and then they have a perception about our country. And, by and large, the perception when W was in office was . . . wait for it,

Positive.

Say what you will, I’m just reporting here.

Now, on the flip side, those who were well heeled, well traveled and well educated felt that . . .

America is a-okay.

In other words, in my travels: China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong (it’ll always be HK to me), Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, Germany, UK and Argentina, the folks I met in big cities and in small cities by and large thought W was okay (but not great) and that America was still kicking butt and taking names.

Nice. So why don’t we hear that?

Here are some comics that have been published in papers in Australia. I am not aware of the distribution in the US. Glenn McCoy publishes stateside and can be found on mycomicspages.com (not that I have an account or anything). If you wonder how others may perceive the US, check these out.

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