In years past, especially after the end of World War II, America had a stellar image in the world. Nations and their people looked up to this symbol of freedom and democracy. They respected its government and admired its people. America was often thought of as a role model for all other nations.

How things change. Much of that respect and admiration has eroded in recent times as many of these nations now view America as a nation with an overly aggressive government and a troubled, increasingly violent society. The America that they see today is vastly different from the one that they once knew.

A likely response by a great many Americans to this assessment would be, “Who cares what they think.” They would simply brush off those views as being totally irrelevant. “Who are they to judge us and what we do? After all, we’re still the most powerful nation in the world, we still possess the largest economy, and the U.S. dollar is still the world’s main reserve currency. We are #1.”...

Why is this so important? Well, let’s just say that if America that wants to compete in this complex, extremely competitive global economy, it must have excellent relations with other countries to develop trade agreements that benefit the U.S. and its people, to initiate treaties with other nations, and to attract foreign investment and tourism. In other words, in conducting global commerce, you need the world community of nations to want to do business with you, not to avoid you because of your reputation.