Tomorrow I am leaving the US for the first time in 2 years. I am headed for 2 weeks in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia.
I am a seasoned traveler - I've been to about 23 or so countries on 4 continents and I've been traveling since I was 16.
For the first time ever, I've been thinking "Do I really want to wear my Wisconsin sweatshirt abroad?" "Do I put a maple leaf on my backpack?" "Should I make sure none of my clothing has English on it?" I don't get the sense that we're loved around the world you guys. It's really bothering me that I have to have these thoughts and actually come up with answers.
Just to give you answers - no, I'm not putting a maple leaf anywhere, and I'm bringing my Wisconsin sweatshirt because it's the only one I have and I'm sure few people outside of Wisconsin and Illinois know what Wisconsin is anyway. I am usually mistaken for German overseas, at least until I open my mouth anyway.
I'd be interested to hear what everyone else thinks about traveling overseas re: safety and our global image.
Also, if we're going to improve that image, we all know the effort starts here. I want to thank the poster of this diary that was put up earlier today. They asked us to write the media and I did. My letter is below.
My Letter - Sent to WI Newspapers (feel free to copy it)
To Whom it May Concern:
A memo was released now 2 weeks ago giving evidence our President committed a grave offense against our democracy in his deceptive path to war. The Downing Street Memo has not received much coverage by the American media, and Americans are largely ignorant of it.
The memo shows Bush's commitment to go to war 8 months before he asked Congress to pass a resolution. The case was thin, and the facts were being juxtaposed around the policy, the memo tells us. This is not how responsible government or democracy works in action.
This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. If our people are committed to democracy, we must be committed to our own. If you support democracy, I beseech you to give the Downing Street Memo fair coverage.
Thank you,
me
my address
