My trip to Canada to attend the film festival also opened my eyes to the current state of America in the eyes of the world. There were numerous films at the international festival that confronted - directly and indirectly - President Bush and our current foreign policy. Because of the Sept. dates of the fest, I will always be out of the country when the anniversary of 9/11 arrives. The difference between how America is viewed now, and how it was viewed five years ago in the aftermath of the attacks, is startling. Being surrounded by journalists and filmmakers from around the globe this past festival, and seeing the distrust and dismay reflected on the screen was an eye-opener. The new Bob Woodward book, State of Denial, has added fuel to the growing fire of American anger and frustration at the state of our nation.
Didn't we learn the lessons we needed from Vietnam? Well, the politicians learned enough to make sure the nightly news isn't filled with pictures of body bags, injured civilians and unhappy soldiers. Their media savvy wasn't good enough, however, to cover-up the Abu Ghraib mess. And while Bush is not bombing another country and denying it (Nixon and Cambodia), he is putting a happy face on a increasingly slippery slope of violence and civil war without an end in sight in Iraq. Have we improved our chances of stopping terrorism at home, or have we created a recruiting poster for anti-American terrorism? I am not happy about what I think is the answer to that question.