Those "people"...

I often hear the sentiment "Those [country]'s people all want war or are this or that. People talk about all the people in a country as if the people of the country were doing what it is their government or fundamentalists in their country is actually doing.

But, when we hear the same about us, we say "I am an individual and I don't always agree with my government and it's actions. So, don't label me as one of those people!"

We hear it from our friends to the north - "Those Americans are all blah blah." - when what a lot of them mean to say is "The U.S. government is..." The point is that while we elect our leaders, our leaders do not do as all of us would necessarily do.

So before we label peoples of a country, think about how we don't like it when it is done to us. We are not held in high regard around the world - not due to what we as Americans do in our daily lives, but by what our bloated imperialistic leadership has done for the past four years. And remember - all the free talk you hear on the radio and TV here is not what those people hear. They hear it from their perspective. Keep that in mind when we talk about other countries. Just like there are two sides to any story in a schoolyard brawl or argument, they have their side too.

Remember this when you speak of "those Lebanese people" or "those Iranians" or "those Isrealis". Often it is the government or terrorist group and not the people who are in favor of declaring this or that decree or offensive.

All this to say - our reality is largely shaped by a media that is "on our side" and you rarely really get an objective viewpoint. Keep this in mind when you decide to label a country this or that.