Before I left the U.S. one of the major things on everyone’s minds was the price of gas. With truckers striking, price hikes every other day and the issue mentioned on the news just about every day; it was evident that people think it is a big problem. It took a voyage of thousands of miles and talking to a few people here to see that gas prices in the U.S. are still just half the price of those here in Uganda (prices are about 2600 shillings per liter which ends up being about $6.40/gallon). U.S. prices are also still cheaper than European prices. It really demonstrated to me how easy it was to get wrapped up in the informational fortress of the U.S. where almost nothing else can get in. It seems to have become a part of the national psyche to be so self-involved and self-focused that nothing outside the U.S. and Iraq even registers anymore unless it’s a natural disaster or other act killing thousands of people. Do Americans really know what’s going on in the world? Or how other people live?
