The Ugly American

U.S. Foreign Policy is a touchy subject. The reason behind this is when American aid is mentioned to a country there is both a feeling of dread and disgust given in response. The Ugly American is both a work of fiction and an exposÐ"©. The Ugly American in question is the diplomats sent by the government to aid the fictional Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan. The country was a former communist country that was “slowly returning to democracy”.

Communism was on the rise at that time in Asia, and the United States felt that the only way the spread of Communism could be suppressed was by aggressive diplomatic envoys. This created more problems than solved them. Upon arrival in the country the diplomats were not fluent in Sarkhanese and brought their families with them under the impression that they were going to live better than the natives. The enemy of the country wasn’t communism but the diplomats themselves. They were under prepared for their arrival in Sarkhan and demanded that they be treated like royalty even though it wasn’t a well-developed country.

As a result, the tiny nation of Sarkhan, like real-life countries at that time enacted policy that greatly limited the powers of all diplomatic envoys. The diplomat’s main job is presenting to the countries they are hosted in, a proper image of America. Throughout Asia, basic American ethics are revered and honored, mostly imitated when possible. The example must be shown that America is still a land of democracy and personal freedom, our way of life should not be just dumped on any country we are aiding. If the country decides that Democracy is the best political model for them then they will eventually phase out their former policy and imitate ours.