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As constant travelers, you may find yourself stumped with how to answer not only the question “Where are you from?” (I was born on the East Coast of Canada, lived two hours from Niagara Falls until I was was 18, then lived in Pittsburgh, PA and now I live in Los Angeles…but I’m often COMING from somewhere else when I travel) but “What the heck is up with your home country anyway?”
As citizens of the world, we are also citizens of one place in particular: the place that gives us our passport. While there is a lot to say about passports and citizenships, and I’m not getting into the social, moral, or legal ramifications of renouncing your citizenship or becoming a PT, I’m going to assume that most of us are from Westernized nations: Canada, the US, Western Europe, Australia. That means our governments make most of the decisions that affect most of the rest of the world.
The book Citizen Diplomacy, produced by Brigham Young University offers potential answers to some very thought-provoking questions. It discusses everything, from “Why does America have so many homeless, poor, and unemployed if you’re one of the richest countries on earth?” to “How does your government function?” Designed to start you thinking about how you might answer difficult questions about your country, things you might never have had to think about, this book is a wonderful lesson and lesson-plan, all in one. I highly recommend if not getting it, then certainly putting some thought and research into the difficult questions that might pop up along your road.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Though not quite as difficult to answer as “why does the US have so many homeless”, I was asked while traveling abroad for the first time, very sincerely by an older man with his granddaughter beside him, “Does everybody play football over there? Are you a cheerleader? Are the schools really that scary?” It certainly caught me off guard–I assured him that not all schools are the harsh, inner city ones portrayed in movies, and that football doesn’t (entirely) run the world over here in the US. It made me realize how much people’s opinion of America are made from the movies and entertainment we provide the world–and how very inaccurate those are at times
May 19th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
The book seems like it would be interesting to read. When people asked me where I was from, I said “Cleveland, OH” (at the time I was living in OH). I was surprised how many people have heard of Cleveland and the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. It was wild! Of course, I was in the UK.
Unfortunately, I’d probably agree with foreigners when it comes to questions about our government, schools, and homeless population. We can do much better. It takes the people of the U.S. to pull together, clean up their act, and accept responsibility for what has happened to the country.
May 20th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Great blog post. For more information about how you can be a citizen diplomat as well as hundreds of opportunities to engage in international activities visit our website at http://www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org. The US Center for Citizen Diplomacy is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that is dedicated to increasing citizen involvement, inspiring global partnerships, honoring diplomatic accomplishments, and expanding international education.
For more information send me an email at dforsythe@uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org or visit the website!
Thanks!