What is this America thing anyway?

The BBC, from time to time, is criticised for being too US centric when reporting global news. The critics say that the BBC should take into consideration other cultures, even out own, and their reporting should better reflect this. But is this a fair criticism, or is it simply that the US is so influential that it cannot be ignored. Alistair Burnett at the Beeb has his own perspective . But I think it is more subtle than that. I also posted this on the Editors Blog at the beeb – a good read, by the way!

The BBC is a global broadcaster in some senses, (World service and satellite coverage), but the audience here is certainly not global in understanding in oh so many ways!In this country the public and the press is often very critical of what Americans know of the rest of the world, while we also gobble up American culture by the bucket load. But this only serves to show our own ignorance and hypocrisy.

My mother was born and brought up in Burma – a daughter of the empire if you will. When I was young someone asked “did she have slaves?” When I pointed out that they did not have slaves in the East and that the pupils in her school and her friends were British, French, German, Burmese, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Siamese, Australian …

Well, they were quite incredulous. That was more than 30 years ago. 5 years ago I had almost the exact same conversation with someone else.

We are superlatively ignorant of our own history and the role we play in the world – so how can we judge others in the offhand manner that we judge the US?

When you broadcast to the UK about the US, I think you forget that people here simply do not understand America and her people.

I once joked that the US is a nation of people standing round the edge looking in. A touch unfair, perhaps, but I had good reason for being to flippant.

If we want to ski, we go to Switzerland. If we want to sunbathe we go to the Med. If we want to play golf we go to Portugal. If we want desert we go to Africa. If we want forests we go to Norway … you get the picture.

If an American wants surfing – they have some of the best in America. If they want mountains, they go to the Rockies. For Desert they go to Arizona. For Theatre they go to Manhattan.

To be quite honest, they have absolutely no reason to leave their country – and most don’t. Their exposure to other cultures is what people bring to them.

Despite the various military actions taken by the States over the last 60 years, the vast majority of the US dealings with other countries has been very benign and has revolved round the Dollar – the most convertible currency on the planet. The same countries that “hate” the “Imperialistic US” spend billions of dollars trading in, erm, dollars. I could joke that Bin Laden buys his arms in Dollars because he gets a better exchange rate. Trouble is, it could well be true.

When you report a global story it is nearly impossible not to make it US biased because of the way that both the US and the UK are intrinsically wrapped up in other countries (The British by history, the US by money), but most people do not understand that because they simply do not understand the US.

As an old Indian friend once said, “Independence allowed me to be proud to be Indian. But because of our linked histories, I am proud that I can tell you that in English.”

People need the US – not the culture, or the politics, but the existence of a large, successful lump of mankind. It does not bring stability or hope or solutions, but it creates a centre that the rest of the world can revolve around. Previously it was the British Empire, but currently it is the US. Hating it is optional, needing it is mandatory.