Baseball bat: A foreign policy instrument for Barack Obama as he carries it while he talks-Part 3
The ethos of affinity, brotherhood and peace promotion that the USA wants to uphold have been overshadowed by the more dominant influence of wars in shaping perceptions of the people.
The public around the world knows the USA more due to belligerency and its military operations. Only one side of the picture is known by them.
In this context, Obama may be looking to ascertain that the masses get disillusioned and the real personality of the USA is brought before the world with the display of a baseball bat.
He may be presenting it as a harbinger of peace which he plans to ensure in Afghanistan. The fact the troops from Afghanistan will be withdrawn soon is another reason which should make us believe that instead of giving warnings of military operations he
is following a different strategy now.
With the baseball bat, he can add local flavour to his tactics on the battlefield and by winning hearts and minds of the people by becoming a picture of peace for them he can go a long way in reducing the influence of terrorists.
Provided that people think of the baseball bat as a symbol of peace, they can easily be made to start playing it for themselves. Imagine if Obama steps on Afghanistan soil with baseball bat in his hand and becomes a source of inspiration for the masses there.
What if those who support terrorists invisibly and have a soft corner for them experience an addiction of playing baseball after they see a US President trying to project its bat as a peaceful instrument.
If Obama can be successful in making them realise that as to how in this way they can be peaceful and living a pleasant life, they will start playing it as their regular sport. Consequently their attitude toward the American people may change and out of
sympathy with them they relinquish aiding those who launch ambushes and kill their soldiers.
The picture that White House has made public has been taken negatively by most people living outside the USA.
However, once Obama begins using the same posture regularly in his foreign policy affairs, the rest of the countries can stop perceiving it this way. That is when it can be expected that they know more about the significance of the baseball bat and establish
a positive opinion toward it.
A columnist in Russia has commented on the photo in such a manner that one may find it difficult to control laughter in the first place. He has tried to make a point that Obama on-purpose held the bat in order to project a threatening look which reflects
the hubris of being the president of a Super power.
He has attempted to substantiate his flimsy argument by stating that if Obama loves sport so much he could have worn a uniform instead of sitting on the chair laden with formal clothing.
"Had he been dressed in a tracksuit and tennis shoes, perhaps we could have been convinced of Obama's sporting virtues and love of sports, yet the photograph shows Obama in his official uniform, complete with jacket and tie, as he very demonstrably holds
a baseball bat with a white-knuckle grip … the White House knows exactly what it is doing."
No matter in what way the opposition parties denounce the Government of Turkey, it will be hoped that baseball bat does not suffer with a negative publicity around the world.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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