Stranger in a Strange Land

It comes as no surprise to any of you that I have never supported the Bush cabal and their hubristic invasion of Iraq. I join many of us in the expat community in denouncing most American foreign policy whenever the topic arises. After all, the US has severed relations with New Zealand because this country has declared itself a nuclear-free zone, yet condemns Iran for continuing to develop it's nuclear program (or is that nuke-yoo-lar?) Go figure.

However, something happened the other day that really shook me to the core. There was another demonstration down Queen Street over the Israel-Lebanon situation. The crowd of 300 (that's pretty big by NZ standards) marched from Aotea Square to the American consulate. All in all, a pretty peaceful but powerful statement. Then someone climbed the building and brought down the American flag to set it on fire. I can't describe the emotions - I felt so personally wounded by the idea that all our country stands for could be dismissed and diminished by such an act, with a crowd cheering in approval. People in other parts of the world savor the American dream, but they judge us by the actions of a few people. It's one thing to see the American flag burned by American students in the US (something I remember from the Vietnam era), but it's quite another thing to see it happen in another country. Here's the story:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3741353a10,00.html