There have been many times during the Bush Administration which I have felt disgusted at being an American; but never so much as after hearing this news story on NPR. The First Lady visited a school in Mali, Africa this week for a photo-op. In preperation for the visit, the U.S. embassy came to the school and gave it a significant face-lift. The front door, where the photo shoot would take place, was painted. Nothing else was painted, just the front door. Two water fountains were pulled out near the entrance because they weren’t visually appealing. Electrical outlets and a generator were installed in order to power fans to cool Mrs. Bush and the crowd. The trash in the courtyard was picked up, new gravel was laid in the driveway so that Mrs. Bush wouldn’t slip in the mud (only the part of the driveway that Mrs. Bush would see, of course) and bushes and plants were planted.
The photo-shoot came and went - it only took a few hours. The trash from the First Lady’s visit - water bottle lables and donut cartons - was left on the ground. Electrical outlets, generators and fans were yanked out. Would it have been so terrible to, at least, paint the whole building and maybe clean up after themselves?
