Let me start by saying I love my home state and country. I grew up in Minot, but I have been living and working in Vancouver, Canada since 2004.
I noticed something happened when I started living abroad and listening to foreign news sources. They are more likely to report the news by telling what happened and letting their viewers draw their own conclusions. The news has no name calling, no blaming, and no panel of “experts”. The foreign news reports more facts and has less entertainment. When did that concept cease to be American?
Many USA news sources appear to be more like paid political broadcasts. Example, Obama care:
- MSNBC: Our health system is broken. We need to fix it. We need to be able to help more people obtain health care. Big Pharma and insurance companies are out of control. Hospital visits shouldn’t cost $40,000 and up.
- Fox News – Obama is a Socialist. Obamacare is ruining our country. No government run program will ever work unless it is the military. If you can’t pay for healthcare that is your problem. It’s antibusiness.
(I use Obama care as an example because the topic is extremely polarizing and each side has an opposite philosophy).
I’m proud to be an American. However, since I have been living abroad for 12 of the last 18 years it has been my observation that we are not viewed by others as we view ourselves. Here are some examples:
- I am constantly told by Canadians and European friends that Fox news is a joke. My Canadian friends are astonished that so many Americans truly believe what Fox news is saying.
- Every country has disagreements during election time. How we go about elections appears juvenile. Rational solutions are becoming more difficult as the left goes further left and the right goes further right.
- I believe America is the best country in the world, but there are other great countries too. Could we be humble enough to look at what other countries are doing to see what else is working? If America is to be and remain “the best”, it needs to keep an open mind.
Do yourself and our country a favor by watching other media outlets besides Fox News, MSNBC and other websites and blogs that have a narrow one-sided vision. The whole world is watching the United States of America. What are we watching?
