How to impress an American journalist

David sent me this: "I don't know if you saw this, but I came across this article on the dissatisfaction of Algerian youth in Time magazine (which, and I wasn't aware of this, is an authority on the social and political aspirations of Algerians); the very first line of the article was quite revealing of this perception of American exceptionalism: "“You’re an American journalist?” says Yassin Benabdullah, a lanky 21-year-old in a baseball cap, when I introduce myself to him on a downtown street. “Take me with you! I’ll go now, this minute.” I think one should infer from that line, that Algeria is a hellhole with nothing and that America the beautiful is a land flowing with milk and honey. My apologies; my rage after seeing this has prevented me from better articulating my sentiments."