International Conversations

This blog experienced a large increase in readership in recent months. I think it began with our election in November. Shortly thereafter I noticed an upswing in European readership, mostly in France.

Thinking back on it I now realize that France has been rocked by two major terrorist attacks. Their national politics have also been wracked by issues surrounding immigration, contentions between Islam and Christian followers, and a host of interrelated issues. Caught up in this is France’s own national elections just around the corner.

Whatever the cause nearly 4000 readers per week were connecting to this blog. American readership was only 200. European readers of other nations were also signing in but so were readers in Russia, parts of the old USSR, and South America. Interesting statistics. I had no idea – still don’t – as to what is driving this interest. My hunch is that college or university classes somehow found my blog site and used it for peeking into the American culture and learning from it. I don’t know if they compared my material with other sites or what.

With France's elections on the threshold, my readership has just now begun to decline a bit.

So, what do you suppose our foreign readers learned? Was it about Americans or themselves or the status of the global community?

I wish there were more two-way communications so we could learn the why and wherefore of this readership. I want to know what they learned if anything. I also wish to know if their reading was helpful or of value to them?

Conversing between cultures is healthy, I think. For one thing it causes us to get outside of ourselves and think about someone else. That is always healthy. Broaden the mind and understand one another. It is not easy. Good Lord it isn’t easy in our own country! That is precisely why we must listen to other people and work to understand what they are thinking, feeling and valuing. If we do this perhaps they will do the same in return.

When that happens accurate communication is happening. The more this occurs the better our relations are and the closer we can work together to keep the world a safe and happy place. Maybe peace could break out spontaneously?

We can only hope for that! Meanwhile we have to do something to work toward that objective. Although we think our governments are doing this work we know they are not. They are too often sidetracked on other topics of questionable value and strategy. Some do this intentionally so proper topics are avoided. That is the purpose, after all, of propaganda. Its job is to mislead and misdirect. Plenty of that going on these days.

And America has a larger role in this today than it has in the past. Trump is a provocateur. His strength is propaganda. He influences rather than persuades. He trumpets nonsense as though it is truth and fact. So far his messages have been found empty of such. Thus the label is well-earned as propagandist.

Only normal, everyday citizens can counteract this. By reading, studying, listening and hearing what is actually being said, what are actually fact, history and logic, then we will easily show the propaganda for what it is. Falsehoods, sloppy rhetoric and laziness at the least. Propaganda intentionally spread at the worst.

Either way the messages are not healthy for the global community. No, we must fix this and as quickly as possible. America is better than hollow, cheap propaganda. Those who deal in this are not leaders. They are provocateurs and ought to be exposed for what they are.

It is up to you and I to do this hard work. I’m doing it now for 5 years. Hopefully you have been doing it far longer. Shall we continue on this track?

February 27, 2017