International relations is closely tied to international trade and the world economy. We as Americans, when purchasing specific products, affect the economies of other countries by creating a demand for natural resources and/or cheap labor. For example, Kristy loves scenic driving (and Catie loves accompanying, in the passenger seat). The pleasure we take in consuming oil while driving contributes to America’s dependence on foreign oil suppliers, affecting in a small way the United States’ relationship with several Middle Eastern countries. Oil is one of the largest contributing factors to tensions between the US and the Middle East, and by guzzling oil we have affected this situation in a small way.
As American teenagers, we contribute to the norms and standards of pop culture and the media. By condoning general trends in clothing and entertainment, we help to propogate societal norms for our generation. These norms are in turn transmitted through the media to other countries, sometimes changing aspects of their culture in controversial ways. For example, there is now at least ten international versions of American Idol. By paying for cable, going to the movies, buying CDs, and watching television shows supported by expensive advertising, Kristy and I have contributed to this globalization of American values. Many nations have become concerned, and even hostile, to this American influence, seeing it as an attack on their own national identities. This ranges from the French establishing the Academie Francaise to protect their national language from American “intrusions”, to radical Islamic terrorists attcking the United States because they so strongly disagree with our values. These are just a few examples of the ways that, on a small scale, we contribute to the big picture of international relations.
-Kristy and Catie
Excellent post! (Nice, creative title also.) Well done; consumption, consumption, consumption…we’ll talk more about this phenomenon later in the course.