A Public Citizen

March 6, 2008

The other day at Contact Club’s weekly conversation club we were discussing media in Kazakhstan and America and Britney Spears was brought up. Someone said that the American media was hounding her and invading her privacy, but I pointed out that while the media is definitely contributing to her mental collapse, her lack of privacy is as much her fault as it is the media’s. Britney Spears is a public citizen and as such has lost of the right to privacy that ordinary people take for granted. Furthermore, at least until recently she constantly sought attention. In fact, that attention was the foundation of her financial success, from her music career, to her perfume, clothing, and other endorsements deals. As I made my argument however, I realized that now, due to my Peace Corps experience, I too am a public citizen.

Here in Kyzylorda, actions that would be considered trivial in the United States are newsworthy. For example, last month I visited a school and sang a Kazak song, and this was considered a newsworthy event important enough to be on TV and in the newspaper. I am no longer simply McKenzie Clark and teaching English is just a small part of the role I play here. I am now Mr. Clark, American Volunteer, and thus everything I say or do reflects not only me personally but also on my organization and my country. The opposite is also true. I was even asked one time to explain George Bush and American Middle East policy as if I represented the entire American electorate or came up with the policy myself. Furthermore, all three of us, at least to a certain extent, watch what we do and say and think, and so our trips to the sauna are important not just for cleanliness, but it is also the one place where we can let everything out. It is definitely tiring to be a symbol of America twenty-four hours a day, but it is also very rewarding, not only in regards to interviews and autographs, but also because I know I have a chance to really influence how people see America and Americans, especially at a time when many of our international relationships are strained. In the end, on those days that are hard, I just remind myself that I chose this and remember that this will be excellent training if I ever want to have a career in politics.