Why Americans Don’T Move Overseas
Posted: 10/10/2017 | Oct 10, 2017
We’ve all heard the alarming statistic—only 40% of Americans ain a passport.
That break is rising, but alone because Americans are instantly required to exhibit a passport when going to United Mexican States together with Canada. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin kickoff got her passport final yr together with has alone traveled overseas to military machine bases inward Republic of Iraq together with Germany. In fact, she’s implied that traveling is for the rich:
“I’m non i of those who maybe come upwards from a background of, yous know, kids who mayhap graduate college together with their parents acquire ’em a passport together with give ’em a backpack together with say croak off together with move the world. Noooo. I worked all my life…I was not, uh, a operate of, I guess, that culture.”
So why is it that the world’s superpower, a the world amongst 300 i thou k people, turns a blind midpoint to the residual of the planet, together with political figures tout their lack of overseas move equally a plus? I believe in that location are a few reasons:
First, there’s size. Forget close post-9/11 politics for a moment. Most identify unit of measurement vacations inward America are to other parts of America. Why? Because the U.S. takes upwards the width (and a lot of the height) of a whole continent, together with nosotros take away maintain all the world’s environments inward our states. Need beaches? Head to Florida. The tropics? Hawaii. Desert? Arizona. Cold tundra? Alaska. Temperate forests? Washington. This mental attitude close America having all yous demand is best summed upwards yesteryear a reply I got from a friend inward Iowa: “Why would yous desire to croak to Thailand? It’s far together with scary. If yous desire beaches, exactly croak to Florida.” Americans only don’t encounter the demand to croak anywhere else when they tin create it all inward their ain country, peculiarly when they’re afraid of the world.
Which brings me to my 2nd point—fear. Americans are exactly scared of the world. I mean, truly scared. Maybe fifty-fifty petrified. In this post-9/11 world, Americans take away maintain been taught that the basis is a big, frightening place. There are terrorists exterior every hotel waiting to kidnap you. People don’t similar yous because you’re American. The basis is violent. It’s poor. It’s dirty. It’s savage. Canada together with Europe are OK, but if yous croak there, they’ll even therefore hold upwards rude to yous because you’re American. No i likes us.
Even earlier 9/11, the media created an environs of fear. If it bleeds, it leads, right? Prior to 9/11, the media played upwards violence at dwelling solid together with abroad. Pictures of riots inward unusual streets, threats against Americans, together with full general violence were all played upwards to portray a volatile together with dangerous world. After 9/11, it alone got worse. Politicians instantly tell us “they loathe you,” equally old NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani did during his campaign. It’s U.S. vs. THEM!!!
Bombarded yesteryear this for decades, Americans retrieve this myth is reality together with don’t desire to acquire out the States.
People ever inquire me why I desire to acquire out the U.S. to travel. Isn’t the U.S. exactly equally good? ”No i likes us out there,” people say. To Americans, the basis is a scary place, together with it’s a perception alone reinforced yesteryear the media together with politicians.
Finally, it’s because of cultural ignorance. Yes, I said it—Americans are ignorant. Ignorant equally inward they only don’t know what is going on exterior their ain borders, non that they’re dumb. I don’t blame them, really. When you’re told the basis is scary, why would yous desire to aid close it? Why would yous desire to croak to places where they supposedly desire to kill you?
So Americans don’t set an emphasis on learning close the world. We don’t accept languages, nosotros avoid overseas programs, together with nosotros don’t beak close our basis inward schools. Our schools instruct i unusual language: Spanish, together with that’s alone because there’s a large Spanish-speaking population inward the country, non because nosotros desire to croak to Spain—or United Mexican States correct adjacent door. The media doesn’t focus on the basis unless it relates to something bad, together with our politicians encourage us to erect walls, non suspension downward barriers.
Some people fence that it’s because America is “far” from the residual of the world, equally if there’s an insurmountable distance to croak to acquire places. However, New Zealand is further geographically from everything, yet New Zealanders are encouraged to croak out together with explore the world. In the historic catamenia of the Internet, Twitter, YouTube, together with airplanes, it’s slow to croak places. Distance is no excuse.
Americans don’t move because of culture, non location. Sure, it’s non universal. There are enough of Americans out in that location exploring the basis together with breaking downward cultural barriers. They come upwards back, dispel myths, together with encourage their friends to croak to a greater extent than aware of the world. But fifty-fifty inward the to a greater extent than liberal places inward America, yous encounter the mental attitude that America is the world’s alone security the world together with that most of the basis is pretty scary. Americans take away maintain an icon of the basis that is totally divorced from reality.
The distressing irony is that nosotros created the basis nosotros are therefore afraid of. America’s force for a globalized basis brought many players onto the stage. It helped the Chinese dragon emerge from its cage, brought Republic of Republic of India into the game, helped Brazil’s economic scheme grow, together with tore downward communism. Now, nosotros expect at the basis together with are terrified that nosotros no longer sympathize it or our identify inward it. Instead of trying to larn more, nosotros erect barriers together with bury our heads inward the sand.
Yet, I am hopeful. The futurity of the basis requires to a greater extent than integration, together with immature Americans growing upwards inward this post-9/11 environs are truly to a greater extent than interested inward learning close other countries than shunning them. They desire to move together with explore the world. I retrieve the futurity volition hold upwards bright, equally long equally political leaders don’t wall us off completely earlier then.
For to a greater extent than close why American’s don’t travel, hither are a dyad follow-up articles I wrote a dyad of years later this one:
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