Madeline Albright: "Bouncing Effect"

Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright promoted her new book  “Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership," on the Daily Show this week. As she pointed out, "She knows where people get their news"--hinting to the influence that the Daily Show has on our society. She also made several great points, which I see as related to the concepts of new media and globalization. She discussed the importance of managing a diplomatic, or social, message worldwide. While we accept the Oscars or the coverage of Senator McCain and the lobbyist scandal, as a message targeted to an American audience, the truth is that these messages are "echoed" throughout many societies; thus, they help shape other individuals' view on our country. 

Albright talks about the "bouncing effect of diplomacy". It is imperative that we are aware of this concept. In my opinion, the use of new media (internet) has increased the importance of this concept. According to Albright, we as Americans must be educated and aware when a term such as "islamic terrorists" is applied to our discourse. Ignorant generalizations such as this allow other nations to mold a disappointing opinion of Americans. 

As new media encourages the bouncing effect and may cause our messages to be misconstrued or misunderstood, we can also use this technology to our advantage. We can embrace the internet and educate ourselves on other cultures and current foreign politics; thus, we can slowly start to improve our international appearance. 

Even though leadership and diplomatic messages depend on our "President elect", we as individuals can engage in civic responsibility and help jump-start awareness. American values and messages certainly have been misrepresented in the world. 

View this website to watch the 2nd half of the Daily Show: 

http://www.eveningtalk.com/2008/02/27/madeline-albright-on-the-daily-show/