Erasing the Image of the Ugly American

WalMart and McDonald's business may be booming around the planet – but their prevalence doesn't necessarily make them welcome guests. In an interview published in the New York Times, Keith Reinhard, president of Business for Diplomatic Action, warns of the United States' waning popularity amongst the international community. Recent polls reveal that a significant portion of the world's population – especially from longstanding US allies in Europe – deliberately avoids purchasing American products. Reinhard cites a shift in the rest of the world's public perception of the US since the fall of the Berlin Wall, after which "[Americans] decided that history was over and that we had won." The ensuing spread of American culture combined with what many perceive as the "arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity of the American people" and heavy-handed foreign policy has soured many opinions of US-produced products. To combat this shift, Reinhard advocates a concerted return to an internationalist ethos of cultural exchange and cooperation. CEOs, he suggests, should lead this charge, lobbying government for vital reforms and training "the next generation of citizen-diplomats." Lauding his own programs in the Middle East, Reinhard declares, "Let's out-recruit Osama bin Laden." – YaleGlobal