A Producer of Hope?

When I was in the US Consulate, I found that they were keeping a strict watch over us. The photos on the white wall of the President Bush, the Vice-President Cheney, and Miss Rice caught my eye. And the Stars and Stripes told me that I would go to America soon. I thought as if I went to the United States at Osaka.

It is a precious time that I visited the US Consulate. There I saw many people queue up and apply for a visa. I wondered why they were going to America. A mother with her crying little girl, businessmen, young teenage girls, college students, elder women and men, and other Asian people.... and so on, they might have something to do for somebody important or something special.

What kind of hope do they have? What will they see in America? America is the largest country in the world, as you know, and has been always the land of opportunity. Peoples' expectation of being given many opportunities has made more people get there from their home countries. A wide variety of people constitutes the today's America.

However, is America really the land of opportunity? Some people say that America is the imperialism of freedom, democracy and free-market economy to conquer the world.

An imperialism seems to control the order and the mind of the people of the world as a whole, just as the Roman Empire. They say that America is the modern version of the Roman Empire. To them, the President Bush is the Emperor named the President, isn't he? If so, today would be the memorial when I became one of the slaves of the American imperialism!

A professor of my university also said that America was the Empire of the today's world in his lecture and criticized the foreign policy of America, especially,the war on Iraq.

To tell my insight about such a statement, I do not agree that America is an empire.

The President Bush is one ordinary American, not a special man. He was elected by ordinary Americans as well. This is one of the attractive aspects of the United States, I guess. In this regard, America is a special country in the world. (Some people may say that Mr. Bush is from the richest family in Texas and he is special. If you say so, our Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also born with a silver spoon. )

In some way, I can say that every American can become the most powerful one named the President of the United States.

Our ancestors' strong desire for freedom and democracy made America, as the history says. It has really made many people freedom and wealth. I may be able to say that America is a producer of hope. But, of course, America doesn't give us hope for free. Catching a hope and making our dream come true finally depends on us. It should be never forgotten. I hope I will enjoy being in such a normal and a special country.