16 November 2009
Global Economy, Sure - but American Isolationalism?
On a recent European trip, to Italy, Greece, and Turkey, I was impressed with how easy it was to interact with our local hosts and service providers. Most people with whom we came in contact spoke English, many menus had English translations for every item, and English signage made getting around easy. Granted, our travels took us to tourist destinations, where this is not that surprising. But it made me think about how foreign visitors to the U.S. manage in our Anglo-centric culture.
Only somewhere between 10 and 25 percent of Americans are able to converse in a second language. In Europe, this same statistic appears to be 50 percent, or slightly more. Multi-lingual signage in big cities appears to be directed more toward our residents from foreign countries than it does to visitors. (At Home Depot in Chicago, they have signs in English, Spanish and Polish.) Service personnel who speak a language in addition to English more often than not do so because they originally came from another country, where that was their first language. Although the United States is a melting pot of many cultures, we still have a somewhat isolationist culture. If we respected, explored, and embraced our diversity more enthusiastically, we would gain a perspective that would serve us better globally – both politically and economically. It’s a big mistake to be so arrogant as to think that our way is the only way. It’s not even always the best way.
There are many global issues that should interest us, if for no other reason than they WILL impact our lives in some way in the future. Watch CNN World, BBC World News, or other sources of international news reports. Open your eyes to important stories developing around the globe and think about their impact. Will Turkey be admitted to the European Union? What will be the long term impact of the overvaluation of the Chinese Yuan? How do unemployment rates in the US compare to statistics in other countries? What will happen if democracy doesn’t take hold in Afghanistan? These issues, and many others, should be of more interest to us if we expect to retain a leadership position in the global economy.
Education and experience is the answer to addressing our isolationist leanings in the U.S. Study world history and news, travel, learn another language, appreciate foreign music and art of different cultures, and open your eyes and heart to extraordinary experiences. We are part of a great, wide world, and we can’t continue to be successful as a country or as individuals without understanding where we fit in our world culture.
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Laurel, I agree with you. I've never been abroad, but have been to Canada (Nova Scotia) where all public signage, by law, has to be in both English and French. It was actually quite amusing and helped me to learn some French while there. Having been married to a Canadian, and been thrust into their culture, I've witnessed that their population is much more global in view than ours. In fact, our uneducated global view is often the butt of jokes in their media.
ReplyDeleteI think gaining that global perspective starts at school and at home. As an example, my youngest son is learning Spanish in school and is extremely resistant to it. I think it's quite fun to learn a new language myself and have been learning with him. He recently asked "WHY do I need to learn Spanish?! No one even speaks it in my school." I took that perfect learning opportunity and explained that English was not the only language spoken in the world. I further explained that as he grew up he would see that the world was a big place and he must learn to communicate with people from all over the world.
I know it's hard for a 4th grader to understand the "big picture", but the seed for the perspective can be planted at a young age and grown from there.
I think you underestimate the sophistication of the educated corporate/political/military/ university populations in the US. Many of these people routinely travel to and engage in business with other nations; certainly, international travel for all purposes has exploded for Americans in our lifetimes.
ReplyDeleteLearning how to do business overseas is indeed a difficult and laborious task for Americans, owing to the "diversity" of the laws, not to mention the cultures. However, American companies began this practice back in the '60's, with generally good results, in spite of complacency that has seen them lose ground.
Certainly, it is easy to find plenty of Americans who have a complete ignorance of the rest of the world, or, for that matter, different regions of the US. But there are so many more people taking advantage of cheap jet fares, international conferences and "overseas semesters" through universities that people live in a much wider world than even 30 years ago.
Exposure to a wider world is somewhat meaningless, however, if one does not understand one's own country and its culture, history and institutions. Too many people travel to France (for example) and enthuse about its food and bullet trains without understanding the political and social prices paid for these commodities. Not to mention the fact that many of these countries would now be speaking German if not for the blood sacrifice of the American people.
Leisure is nice, business is useful, but fundamentally, the US needs to resist the Omamanian urge to think of ourselves as one of many countries. We are the linchpin of global civilization, and if we forget that in the charms of playing nicely with others, the whole planet will be headed for a worse trouble than it has known since the collapse of Greco-Roman civilization.