It is amazing the insights one can gain while playing Halo.
This past weekend, as I donned a southern accent and attempted to reinforce every negative American stereotype imaginable in a conversation with a couple young English men via online play, I came to a realization. That, of the most fundamental aspects of the change so enthusiastically demanded for by the American public in November, one of the most important was also the one we are most personally responsible for — the current standing of our country in the world.
Among all of the hopeful and idealistic news following the November election, a source of humbling news were Gallup polls which showed little to no improvement in world opinion of the United States as a result. Especially in areas of the globe where anti-American sentiment runs deep, it seems there is no difference between Bush’s America and Obama’s America.
This is certainly not to say they are the same. Along with seemingly everything else, the positive steps that President Obama has already made in this area have been overshadowed and partially ignored in favor of talk about the economy. The executive order to close Guantanamo Bay in addition to promises of troop withdrawals from Iraq addressed two of the most commonly cited grievances international citizens hold with the United States.
However, addressing anti-American sentiment will involve doing more than just making up for the mistakes of George Bush. Ironically, it will involve building upon one of the successes of his administration. It is not a coincidence that the only area of the globe with a generally positive impression of our nation’s former president is also the area which received the bulk of our humanitarian aid during his time in office (that would be sub-Saharan Africa).
Simply put, a substantially greater amount of direct foreign aid to the most impoverished areas of the earth is needed. Statistic after statistic speaks to our nation’s embarrassing lack of commitment to fighting humanity’s greatest threat (such as the fact that only .44 percent of our 2007 annual federal budget went to foreign development and humanitarian aid, making us far and away the smallest contributor among the G7 nations), and how little it would take to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Yet, this simple conclusion comes during a period of economic collapse unmatched in our country in the past 80 years and a federal deficit equal to about 10 percent of our nation’s entire gross domestic product. Predictably, the New York Times reported Saturday that the promise made by President Obama to double foreign aid will be scaled back in his budget to be released Thursday, perhaps substantially. In economic circumstances such as these, countries understandably look inward rather than outward. But these hard facts do not change the urgency or necessity of addressing this devastating issue.
What all of this equates to is what I see as the first instance of individual service at the grassroots level needed to accomplish the goal of redefining America. This instance is not a call to volunteer at your local homeless shelter or food shelf, activities which though commendable, will likely change our nation’s global popularity very little. Rather, in this case it is by looking beyond our communities that we will be able to help redefine them.
Consider, as just one of seemingly infinite possibilities enabled by the advent of the internet, the ingenious and fantastically successful concept of microfinancing. The basic idea is this: using a website such as Kiva.org one can lend in any amount to an entrepreneur in need in a poverty stricken area of the globe. The key word is lend. When you are a person with no money to open a savings account, no assets to use as collateral for a loan and have no work history or credit record it is nearly impossible to gain inclusion into any formal financial sector in order to lift yourself out of poverty. By lending in small amounts, donors can help impoverished entrepreneurs escape the trap of poverty by supplying them with the capital needed to purchase a sewing machine or more efficient farming tool or seed. As these entrepreneurs reap greater profit they repay the loan you gave them. It is that simple, and yes, it can be essentially free.
Microfinancing does not, of course, in itself represent a silver bullet in ending global poverty. What it does represent, though, is one of many mediums by which problems formerly considered to be relegated solely to the wealth of nations, can be dealt with by individuals on a local scale. Furthermore, it allows us to directly connect in an overwhelmingly positive way with those members of cultures who have lost faith in our country and the people who inhabit it.
This should not be done solely in order to garner the respect or good will of citizens abroad, but as John F. Kennedy proclaimed to Americans in the generations preceding our own, ” … because it is right.” And because we will be upholding our responsibilities to do what is right we will enable ourselves to have the effect of redefining, from a grassroots level, the standing of our country in the global community.
Alec Slocum ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in philosophy and legal studies.
