This article presents a story of how an American teacher in Berlin tried to reach out to her Muslim high school students. She relates how her students were always gracious to her but when they found out she was an American, they tend to avoid talking to her. She explains that the reputation the United States has earned over the past three years has warranted this rejection. For many Muslims and others worldwide, Bush's America conjures up images of torture at Abu Ghraib, pitiless incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, and rouses rage against a falsely justified war that has killed no less than 33,700 civilians and possibly over 100,000 total Iraqis. This volatile backdrop further compelled her to reach out to her Muslim students. To reach out to her students, she acted as a private citizen to share a critical perspective rarely heard in media coverage of Americans. (Contains 1 footnote.)