Brand America - Coming to a Mall Near You!

No matter how you feel about the ubiquitous "mall" - one thing is sure, life is better amidst the sweet smell of Cinnabon.  


The United States is hoping the sweet smell rubs off on it, as it opens its first American Cultural Center in Jakarta, Indonesia.  In its' essence and objective, the cultural center, dubbed @america, is a classic public diplomacy effort to improve the image of the United States abroad.

Public Diplomacy, by my definition, is the place where public relations and international relations intersect.  It is a bit about marketing and a bit about government/public policy.  It is all about control and influence.

By the looks of it, the center is a kind of creepy planetarium:

Adding splashy technology - like the multi monitor Google Earth project, called Liquid Galaxy, and a full stock of iPads for playing around and exploration - seems to do little to smooth over more underlying tensions between the U.S. and the Muslim world.

According to the NY Times, vistors

[were] not swayed by what [they] assumed was the motivation behind the invitation to [their] school.

“I believe that America hates Muslims, and I’m a Muslim,” [said one student]. “I still believe that after coming here.”

Given this response, one would think the $5 million for start-up and the ongoing $3 million yearly operational budget could be better spent - perhaps here in the U.S. - on programs to educate Americans about Islam and the Muslim culture.  How can we expect to cure hate abroad, when we have hate right here at home?

[If you need evidence of the hate, just recall the supposed "Ground Zero Mosque" debate that raged not that long ago.]