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Originally Posted by jorgelito
What opinions about foreigners do you think that would change? What assumptions about attitudes towards foreigners do you think Americans have now?
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Well, two main things come to mind at the moment, though I am sure there are more:
1) language. If every American had to learn another language, not just Spanish/French/German in a textbook in HS, but actually LEARN and speak a foreign language... I think they would have a lot more empathy for people having to learn English here in the States. I think they would also feel a lot less threatened by people speaking foreign languages around them, since hopefully they would have less of their identity invested in English alone.
2) empathy for the process of migration. If students had to live abroad in another country, I think they would be able to understand how absolutely difficult it can be to find a place in a new culture and society... and how tempting it is to stay in a comfort zone of one's own people (not that it's right to do so, but at least they would understand it instead of feeling threatened by it). I think some Americans honestly think it's "easy" to learn English, and it's "easy" to find a place in American society... when it really takes decades, generations, to really assimilate (if ever). I think having a foreign experience would help change the context of reception in the US to be much more empathetic and welcoming, instead of seeing foreigners as threats to our identity (language, jobs, taxes, whatever is en vogue).
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Originally Posted by jorgelito
Does that attitude work in the reverse? I always feel like an American ambassador abroad, changing the preconceptions that the "foreigners" have about Americans. I spend 3-6 months abroad every year, but my opinions on foreigners have essentially stayed the same, only minimally fluctuating within a given range.
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Well, as I said in my post, I think EVERYONE (not just Americans, though I highlight them especially because we are one of the only educated populations in the world to speak only one language and not travel much outside the US) in the world should have the requirement (opportunity!) to live abroad for a year. That includes people coming to live here, and hopefully have their opinions changed about Americans, too.
As it is right now, we have tons of foreign students coming here from abroad (I married one
), but that is usually of their own choice, and they are typically from high-income families, which means that they are generally more open/exposed to English and American culture already. If we had some kind of Peace Corps requirement for every person in the world, that would just be fantastic in terms of shaking up people's naturally ethnocentric identities.
People of all backgrounds are generally closed-minded... it's just part of what makes us human beings, and has been a survival strategy to preserve our tribes and groups from incursion and change through the millenia. But at this point in our history, I think that attitude needs to change in order for our species to really adapt to the new global reality.
But it's complete fantasy on my part, of course... the most I can do is send our own children abroad at some point, or simply rotate our family from country to country as they grow up (we have 5 countries between my husband and I).
I would love for them to speak five languages, though I'll probably have to settle for two or three.