Ugly American

When I was a young man in the fifties there was a popular book called, "The Ugly American". The book told the story of how US diplomats didn't understand the culture and language of the countries where they were stationed but the Soviet diplomats were sensitive to these issues. The Americans were thought of as rich snobs who flaunted their we're better than you attitude. It is often said that history repeats itself and it seems that is happening in this case. We now have China spoiling their environment by mining rare earth metals so we can enjoy electronics like smart phones. We need these metals for wind mills and solar panels so we can keep our air clean while sending coal to Asia and Africa to kill their citizens with poisonous smog. Have we once again become the ugly American?