Blog #1- letter to America
From the very first sentence of this letter, I could automatically sense disappointment. The way she describes how much America has changed for the worse, reminds me a lot of how I have been with close friends of mine who have also changed for the worse. It is incredibly difficult expressing how upset and disappointed you are without trying to be too hurtful. When you feel you know a place or a person so well and then see such changes as you see with America, it is very hard to deal with. In the case with all the changes in America, it affects virtually everyone around the world. For so long America was well known as being the place where everyone wanted to be. It was well known for fun and freedom, and now all people can think about is the mass amounts of terrorism.
This letter is very clearly aimed to the attention of Americans, in the hopes for them to start making better decisions rather than continue to cause more global issues. More specifically, I believe this letter is aimed towards American politicians as they have final say as to what happens in the country. It is hard for us as Canadians, as she states, we are not only neighbours, but in many cases blood relatives, colleagues and personal friends. Also with America being our biggest trading partner, she makes a point to state that we Canadians are well aware that if they go down, we go down with them, therefore we of course wish them well.
I really enjoyed reading this letter. Margaret Atwood did a great job expressing her disappointment and frustrations while also expressing how hopeful she is that they will be able to turn things around and go back to being strong. She makes a clear point in the second to last paragraph on how if they continue their current ways, people around the world will stop admiring all the good things about them. That I've found to be apparent just by meeting some Americans during some past travels of mine, while George Bush was still president. They would have Canadian flags sewn on their backpacks and be embarrassed to admit they were actually from America. I personally do not follow politics a whole lot, but it is very obvious, also judging by travels of mine, that America is starting to regain a better reputation since Obama has taken over. While backpacking Europe this past summer, the Americans I met were all very proud and patriotic, despite the ongoing global issues. Albania is one country I went to where they actually adore Americans, which I found interesting. I even recall Tirana, the capital, having a street as well as a restaurant named after George Bush, and they were in the midst of doing the same for Obama.
Reading this letter has made me truly realize exactly how much change has gone on throughout all these years. Thinking about how much change she has seen is incredible. Even for me to think of all the change that has occured from what I remember growing up in the early 90's is a bit mind blowing. I want to know what was the cause of all this drastic change to begin with?
This letter is very clearly aimed to the attention of Americans, in the hopes for them to start making better decisions rather than continue to cause more global issues. More specifically, I believe this letter is aimed towards American politicians as they have final say as to what happens in the country. It is hard for us as Canadians, as she states, we are not only neighbours, but in many cases blood relatives, colleagues and personal friends. Also with America being our biggest trading partner, she makes a point to state that we Canadians are well aware that if they go down, we go down with them, therefore we of course wish them well.
I really enjoyed reading this letter. Margaret Atwood did a great job expressing her disappointment and frustrations while also expressing how hopeful she is that they will be able to turn things around and go back to being strong. She makes a clear point in the second to last paragraph on how if they continue their current ways, people around the world will stop admiring all the good things about them. That I've found to be apparent just by meeting some Americans during some past travels of mine, while George Bush was still president. They would have Canadian flags sewn on their backpacks and be embarrassed to admit they were actually from America. I personally do not follow politics a whole lot, but it is very obvious, also judging by travels of mine, that America is starting to regain a better reputation since Obama has taken over. While backpacking Europe this past summer, the Americans I met were all very proud and patriotic, despite the ongoing global issues. Albania is one country I went to where they actually adore Americans, which I found interesting. I even recall Tirana, the capital, having a street as well as a restaurant named after George Bush, and they were in the midst of doing the same for Obama.
Reading this letter has made me truly realize exactly how much change has gone on throughout all these years. Thinking about how much change she has seen is incredible. Even for me to think of all the change that has occured from what I remember growing up in the early 90's is a bit mind blowing. I want to know what was the cause of all this drastic change to begin with?