The level of ambiguity surrounding the meaning of a global perspective has left many study abroad participants, like myself, struggling to explain how spending four months in a far-off land can truly impact oneself. Just recently, I found myself reflecting upon this experience once again as I absorbed the news that the European Union had just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The most valuable lesson that my study abroad experience taught me, stated succinctly by my European Union Integrative Seminar Professor, was “Where communication stops, conflict begins.” We, as a global society, may not agree on how to solve every social and economic problem, or how to progress in a more general sense, but we must recognize that turning a deaf ear to others could lead to a level of ignorance that spurs conflict. We must recognize that we are not so different from our counterparts living all over the world. We work diligently in the same way as those Iranian oil-workers, grateful for a wage. We care about our families in the same way as those nomadic tribes of India. We smile and cherish memories in the same way as those exuberant children of Rwanda.
The most frightening, yet satisfying realization I’ve come to about the impact of a cross-cultural experience is that I now care more deeply about others. As much as I feel pride in knowing that I’ve changed for the better, I am scared and saddened by the prospect that not everyone will be able to have the same opportunity I did. To state it bluntly, a Babson academic curriculum did not turn me into an entrepreneurial and progressive thinker. My study abroad experience did. I do however recognize that Babson made this opportunity possible for me, and for that I am grateful.
To recognize the undeniable benefits of global coexistence and prosperity, we must acknowledge that no model of international integration and cooperation is perfect. The United Nations, European Union, NATO, and other similar organizations will be condemned and scrutinized much more than they will be praised. However, imagine if none of these aforementioned organizations existed. Imagine if countries determined foreign policy based only on who their closest allies were. In the case of the United States, imagine if we were to close down our embassies in all Middle Eastern and African countries. Would this disassociation positively impact our own nation, as well as the world?
Democracy can and should be the cornerstone of expansive foreign relations agendas. If the voices of many, entrapped in dictatorship or extremism, are muted by the voice of a single dictatorial force, how does the world advance to meet the needs of the majority? Unfortunately, the costs of keeping lines of communication open can be high, both in terms of economic capital and life itself. Incidents like the American hostage situation in Iran, or the more recent act of terror on the embassy in Libya, are a dangerous reality. However, the impact that foreign relations have on global democracy cannot be discounted. We have prospered because of social and economic freedom. In hardly 60 years since the end of World War II, Germany is modeled as one of the most economically sound and progressive nations in the world. Let’s not also forget that it was a mere 20 years ago that West Germany and East Germany reunited. Could we expect similar results from the countries that ignited the Arab Spring?
If you told the British in 1770 that their American colony would eventually become the preeminent power in the world, they would laugh at you. If you told the French in 1940 that the Germans would harness the most progressive and impactful country in all of Europe, they would call you crazy. And if you told the Soviets in 1985 that market economies would soon prosper in the satellite countries they then ruled, they would vehemently disagree. Thankfully, we don’t have to settle for the prospect of “what should be”. We can instead rely on inter-cultural fascination and communication to turn the unique identities of 196 countries into one powerful force of progression through common understanding.
It oftentimes is difficult to remember that life is bigger than the towns we reside in. It can easily be forgotten that New England, or any US region, is not a microcosm of the world. For many Americans, it is impossible to see past the borders of Texas and Maine. Hardest of all, while it is easy to read about problems occurring all over the globe, it is nearly impossible, without a global perspective and international level of empathy, to understand and feel the impact of problems facing millions of humans that you and I will likely never cross paths with. This is why I, and my fellow youthful world travelers, are able to see and react to things that others are blind to. While this tremendous asset is to be appreciated, it must also be acknowledged that there exists a tremendous opportunity for us to prosper as a nation by offering all citizens the ability and foresight to reach beyond the finite boundaries that separate us from the outside world.
