The weeping survivors. The drama of the Atlanta massacre perpetrated by a disgruntled day trader plays itself out endlessly on the television screens of America. But there's something that Americans often forget. The rest of the world is watching, too, and wondering what kind of a role model America actually is. As Americans debate with renewed passion the pros and cons of gun control, they should remember what an impact this issue has overseas.
Foreign countries love many things American.
The transoceanic triumph of American marketing icons such as Nike, Coke, and Levi's is familiar stuff. Of more recent vintage and far more significant is the gradual, grudging adoption of America's economic icons. It involves the full range of shareholder rights, individualism, and the energizing, transformative power of free markets. No country has swallowed this American model whole, and many foreign leaders are still opposed to it. But it's fair to say that the rhetoric of American economic freedom is asserting a greater pull overseas than it ever has done before.