Impressions stick

            As I am finishing out my last two and a half weeks in the Arabian Gulf, I am reminded that wherever I go, people are watching. Based on my behavior, both as a US citizen and a member of the Armed Forces, people will make deductions about my country and its military as a whole.

            Yesterday my friend Mahmoud went with George and I to the mall to grab a bite for lunch and shoot the breeze. In conversation, Mahmoud asked a few questions about the US, trying to understand what life was like there. I could tell that he already had certain perspectives of what people did in America, and when I asked him, his answer surprised me.

            Another American that he had met before us was a hardcore college party animal from New York and had corrupted Mahmoud into thinking that all Americans party every night, get drunk, and sleep around promiscuously. Based on one person, Mahmoud naturally though that was the American way.

            Now trying to change someone’s perceptions in a couple hours is not easy. Mahmoud was confused, because he saw a paradox. On the one hand, he had met a college student who could not stop bragging to Mahmoud about having sex, drinking alcohol, and eating pork. The student portrayed America as the best country, because he could do all that and not get in trouble. Then Mahmoud met George and I, who came with humble attitudes, embracing Omani culture for what it was and trying to learn as much as we could about the Middle East. I was getting a bit heated, trying to explain that America is not defined by alcohol and sex and the pursuit of temporary earthly pleasures. America is defined by its freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to worship your God without being persecuted, freedom to raise your kids the way you see fit.

            Many make the mistake of associating the military with going to war, but that is not the military’s mission. The military is a political and economic tool employed to deter war and build relationships. Both as a US citizen and a representative of the US military, part of my mission here in Oman is to represent my country as best I can. But it’s not always easy. Sometimes you have to undo the precedent set by others.