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“[International travel] is very important not only for individuals but also for the country as a whole. The U.S. has periodically made policy blunders because we tend not to appreciate the way our country is seen by foreigners; we often fail to understand the prism of suspicion through which any American action is perceived by foreigners. So I think if more Americans spent time traipsing the world, the United States would become a more cosmopolitan country and we would perhaps have wiser and more sensitive foreign policies.”
–Nicholas Kristof, interviewed by David Frey, World Hum, October 21, 2009
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April 26th, 2010 at 4:16 am
“Prism of suspicion” sounds like putting the blame on foreigners for having a poor view of the US. An alternative point of view would hold that the US has practiced, over the last decade, foreign policies that make it highly unpopular for reasons that can sometimes be legit. (Ask Arabs how they feel about the US, and tell me it’s just them being suspicious…)
But other than that, I totally agree with Mr. Kristof.
April 26th, 2010 at 8:37 am
The U.S. or any country for that matter can’t blame foreigners for a tainted image — that’s on them. Traveling the world and getting to know people and cultures is the best way to end ignorance. Also, being educated isn’t a bad idea either. Research and get to know the history of countries this way you’ll gain a better understanding of them.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Mr. Kristof misses the point. It’s not that America doens’t understand how or why we are viewed by other countries; it’s that we don’t care.
April 26th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Who is we?