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A few years ago there was a tendency by many US citizens to believe that nothing else that happened in the world truly affected us, being that we was the most powerful nation on the planet. The poverty of children in third world countries never directly affected us. The images we began to see on television about starving children with no clean water to drink or food to eat, only stirred a few. Word of a vindictive ruler that was assassinated or overthrown was not our business. We relied on the "authorities" to make sure that situation was handled with minimal threat to our country. We believed a new monetary or communication system would never touch us because the rest of the world was so far away. The threat of terrorism and invasion of another country was just not our problem or of any importance to us. This was my belief before I became sociology major. Living in this country in spite of all of its issues, was still a safe haven compared to the rest of the world, because this was all that Americans knew. Then one day we were all scared straight. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks forever changed the attitudes of those of us who were not concerned with the affairs of the world. Our entire country was forced to look at the world differently (as a possible threat). No longer did we feel 100% safe in our country. This was a wake-up call and a chance for American citizens to play an active role in those activities that were affecting all of us.
Because of the pending increased level of globalization, citizens must be aware of their global community. There are several ways that this can occur, but first it takes a commitment on the part of every citizen to seek the most reliable and truthful information. We must be careful not to take for granted some of the bias that occurs through a particular media source. Several magazines, journals, and newspapers may have a hidden agenda.