I normally don’t post political comments. I try to stay far far away from that mess of arguments which never really seem get anywhere. I hate watching the news in general because of all the sensationalism. However, in light of the recent happenings in the political world by President Trump, I want to state how fearful I am of the direction our nation is heading. After this past week I am now left wondering how I will be perceived as an American when traveling to other countries.
As someone who loves to travel and has been to a good number of countries, I know that most people are not out to get you, no matter what fear mongering the media want to tell you. You will generally be safe if you use common sense and are aware of your surroundings. However, I do realize that my nationality does not have the greatest of reputations in other countries, so I am always cautious of how I act on the road (not that I really have to try hard since I’m quite a reserved person). After hearing about Trump’s recent executive orders to restrict immigration and build a wall, I began to wonder how far he will go, and, as a result, how much more people of other nationalities will hate Americans.
Cleary, I do not want to be associated with our stereotype (I’m sure not many people do), but this cannot be avoided no matter how hard I try. This “me first” attitude that Americans tend to have, with little to no respect or common courtesy for others, is a major flaw. I try very hard to be polite and courteous wherever I am. My wife and I are quite opposite from the stereotypical American image, so much so that we heard on numerous occasions on our trip through Asia that people were surprised to learn we were Americans since we did not act like they were expecting.
On the contrary, I could not believe how many times we heard someone saying negative comments about the US, or how many times they joked about us and our presidential candidates. This was definitely frustrating, but there was not much we could do. Regardless, we tended to agree with some of them because we see firsthand how terrible and inconsiderate people can act in our country.
In light of the new immigration restrictions that Trump is trying to impose, I can only imagine that this stereotype will get even worse during the his presidency. This of course brings about numerous questions for the future of traveling. How will this impact us as an American visiting foreign countries? Will we be prevented entry into countries? Will we be subject to police sanctions when we have not committed a crime? At what cost will this affect us avid travelers who are compassionate and just want to learn more about other cultures?
We will always be judged solely on being Americans, but only time will tell how much worse things may get for us. I have become even more nervous about where I choose to travel to, so much so that I am considering obtaining citizenship from another country because of how tainted our image is becoming. America appears to be a sinking ship when it comes to immigration and cultural relations, which will most likely impact all of us, regardless if we a genuine human being or not. I sure hope the good people of America will outweigh the bad.
