So, just now i was looking at my Moroccan change and n0ticed something peculiar. Each coin had two different dates on them, one which was clearly the modern date, and one which must have been some historical period - they spanned from about the late 1300s to the early 1400s. So, I turned to my colleague and asked the above question, seeing if he could explain the historical significance of all these dates.
He responded simply by saying "it was the year it was printed."
I responded with disbelief, "you're telling me this money is 600 years old?"
No, of course its not. And, as he explained to me its not a historic date. All it is is the date on the Muslim Calendar.
"Ohhhhhhh..." was my response.
It's amazing how things can just seem so weird when you don't understand the context. First example, I was walking around the neighborhood near my office and noticed a lot of streest named "Oued ____," with the street I work on Oued Sebou. So I asked a coworker who this Oued Sebou guy was, joking about how common a name that must be ...although I'd never met an "Oued". It turns out.... that Oued means river in Arabic.
"Ohhhhhh...."
Last example, every morning when I was talking the bus to work and I saw a big mass of people gather in this small park by the side of the road. They didn't look active or energetic enough to be protesters, they didn't look passive enough to be sunbathers. Instead, the person on the bus who I asked revealed to me, they are standing outside the Spanish Embassy trying to get Visas. That was apparently the line.
You can imagine what my response was to that.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Language of Democracy in Morocco
Something I realized is that I haven't talked too much about on this blog is my work, interning for NDI. Part of the reason might be the "well I could tell you, but....then I'd have to kill you" point, that is that a lot of NDI (National Democratic Institute)'s work in Morocco is done discreetly. As an American NGO in a nation where it isn't particularly beneficial to your political future to be considered 'pro American' or be seen as receiving help or worse from the American government. But, what I'm talking about in this blog is pretty harmless, so sorry for the lack of juicy info but I don't want to get fired from my unpaid internship!
NDI uses a lot of different tools to help support democracy in Morocco. The tactics range from trainings of Ministers of Parliament, party officials and activists and candidates on the nuts and bolts of running effective campaigns, voter outreach and communication to supporting emerging political leaders to conferences centered on promoting women's participants to attempts to increase politician accountability and citizen participation such as a website (www.moroccodemocracy.com) aiming to bring more information to Morocco's citizens. Their work here really is exciting and, seeing as it is about 6 weeks until the next elections (mark your calendar for Septembe
r 7, 2007!! You know CNN is going to give it 24 hour coverage, that is, assuming there isn't an attractive white child missing), NDI has many activities and trainings going on.
Among their activities have been a number of trainings and conferences for political parties that I have had the opportunity to help out with. I've been a part of three conferences, one with women from one of the poltical parties which provided them specifically with training on how to promote their party's message and convince voters. Another was with a variety of parties and focused on get out the vote efforts and how these can best be done. The third was on the role media plays in elections both from a theoretical/ethical point of view and from a practical, maximizing positive coverage standpoint.
These have been great experiences on three levels. First, being part of and helping put on these trainigs to help advance the capacities or politicians and those aspiring to be part of this process has made me feel - selfishly- like I am playing a role - albeit a tiny one - in helping these passionate actors in the Moroccan democracy create a more democratic, more social just nation
Second, actually meeting these - for the most part - very friendly people who have ranged from those working for their party to current MPs in office to members of the press and other NGOs, has been really fascinating. Something few Moroccans will deny is that they love talking and very few topics are off the table (especially their opinions on the US! :)) Another nice part is that, as I experienced in South Africa, the MPs
and party leaders do not perceive or treat you as if there too much of a barrier between them and some lowly intern.
The third interesting part has actually been the content. The training n how to organize a campaign, how to effectively communicate you message has been a really exciting (for me at least...) how to on conducting a campaign. I've run into a lot of tactics that I've only seen in practice, to ideas I haven't really encountered in looking at actualy campaigns. One good example is the concept of repeating an idea in communications to get it to stick. One good example is the concept of repeating an idea in communications to get it to stick.
For these conferences, I've been heavily involved in preparatory work, such as finding suitable materials for the participant packets, heling the presenters with their presentation etc. before hand. During I've been mainly doing the note-taking for the goings-on. With these notes, I've then proceeded to write the final reports that need to be submitted to national NDI in DC and eventually the donors.
Contrary to what the movie Office Space says about writing reports, those I've been writing here have actualy been pretty interesting. They have forced me to gain a grasp of NDI's mission and motivations for each of the activities and learn how to put the Moroccan context and its worldwide important into words.
The notetaking itself has also been more compelling than it is made out to be. First is because of my dorky desire to learn and retain the information at hand. Second has been my, again dorky, desire to practice my french since the conferences are usually in French with a translation into Arabic for those who aren't as fluent in French. This leads to the third reason, the language particularity.
In spite of the fact that NDI is an American NGO, it makes a considerable effort to tailor its programs to each country. A large part of this effort is the langauge of its programs, materials and publications. Thus, in Morocco there are in Moroccan Arabic and French. The conferences themselves too are in theses languages, usually with a simultaneous translation but sometimes consecutive (simultaneous is UN style, that is th
e presenter carries on in French and there is a translator who translating at the same time - shockingly called simultaneously - with participants having nifty head phones, consecutive means the presenter pauses and lets the translator do the translation then.)
All this is well and good, I could happily take the French part and copy it down in note form. However, the final reports I had to write have to be in English. As note-taker, I was faced with the dilemma of note-taking in English while the conference was in French. Luckily I had spent the last 4 months before Morocco in Dijon, France learning French or I wouldn't be able to keep up, let alone talk to the participants. That is not to say that I didn't have a few frantic translation search on my computer... hey, personne n'est parfait.
Yet, where this starts to get really interesting (for those of you keeping track, this is the 4th level of interesting) is when you take into account how many Moroccans speak in a hybrid of French and Arabic (as those of you who have read the previous blog would know). Most of the presenters would keep to one lanuage pretty well. However, once the floor was open to the often copious amounts of comments and questions (remember, loquacious people) the poor translators (one from Arabic to French and one from French to Arabic) often need to switch as participants go from one language to another. This is equally difficult for the participants that only speak one of the languages and, namely, me. Having the headphones in, I would have to take them out to hear the presenter when she spoke in French but put them right back in when she switched to Arabic.
It certainly can get confusing; I remember one time where the translator ended up translating the Arabic into...Arabic, not noticing he wasn't being particularly helpful. Talk about getting lost in translation...But, but, this difficulty is well worth the pain. Yes, for the practical point of best being able to train the participant. Yet, for me the most critical point is to highlight that NDI's work isn't about imposing a specific type of pre-packed democracy to all the nation's it works in. Yes America's model work's fairly well in America, but its clear that for democracy to work, it must be suited the the different nuances of each society. Instead, my understanding of NDI's work (disclaimer: these words are the thoughts of Alex Snider and Alex Snider alone and cannot be linked to the parent organization of which he is an unpaid intern) is that it is about using its expertise and experience to provide tools, support and help to those working to realize their own version of democracy. It's not about creating America's democracy in Morocco or anywhere else and its not anything NDI can do without the dedicate political actors in each of the countries it works in. Above all, NDI is about about helping to facilitate democratie à la Marocaine, designed according to Morocco's social circumstances and priorities, political realities, and, yes, naturally, its language(s).
NDI uses a lot of different tools to help support democracy in Morocco. The tactics range from trainings of Ministers of Parliament, party officials and activists and candidates on the nuts and bolts of running effective campaigns, voter outreach and communication to supporting emerging political leaders to conferences centered on promoting women's participants to attempts to increase politician accountability and citizen participation such as a website (www.moroccodemocracy.com) aiming to bring more information to Morocco's citizens. Their work here really is exciting and, seeing as it is about 6 weeks until the next elections (mark your calendar for Septembe
r 7, 2007!! You know CNN is going to give it 24 hour coverage, that is, assuming there isn't an attractive white child missing), NDI has many activities and trainings going on.Among their activities have been a number of trainings and conferences for political parties that I have had the opportunity to help out with. I've been a part of three conferences, one with women from one of the poltical parties which provided them specifically with training on how to promote their party's message and convince voters. Another was with a variety of parties and focused on get out the vote efforts and how these can best be done. The third was on the role media plays in elections both from a theoretical/ethical point of view and from a practical, maximizing positive coverage standpoint.
These have been great experiences on three levels. First, being part of and helping put on these trainigs to help advance the capacities or politicians and those aspiring to be part of this process has made me feel - selfishly- like I am playing a role - albeit a tiny one - in helping these passionate actors in the Moroccan democracy create a more democratic, more social just nation
Second, actually meeting these - for the most part - very friendly people who have ranged from those working for their party to current MPs in office to members of the press and other NGOs, has been really fascinating. Something few Moroccans will deny is that they love talking and very few topics are off the table (especially their opinions on the US! :)) Another nice part is that, as I experienced in South Africa, the MPs
and party leaders do not perceive or treat you as if there too much of a barrier between them and some lowly intern.The third interesting part has actually been the content. The training n how to organize a campaign, how to effectively communicate you message has been a really exciting (for me at least...) how to on conducting a campaign. I've run into a lot of tactics that I've only seen in practice, to ideas I haven't really encountered in looking at actualy campaigns. One good example is the concept of repeating an idea in communications to get it to stick. One good example is the concept of repeating an idea in communications to get it to stick.
For these conferences, I've been heavily involved in preparatory work, such as finding suitable materials for the participant packets, heling the presenters with their presentation etc. before hand. During I've been mainly doing the note-taking for the goings-on. With these notes, I've then proceeded to write the final reports that need to be submitted to national NDI in DC and eventually the donors.
Contrary to what the movie Office Space says about writing reports, those I've been writing here have actualy been pretty interesting. They have forced me to gain a grasp of NDI's mission and motivations for each of the activities and learn how to put the Moroccan context and its worldwide important into words.
The notetaking itself has also been more compelling than it is made out to be. First is because of my dorky desire to learn and retain the information at hand. Second has been my, again dorky, desire to practice my french since the conferences are usually in French with a translation into Arabic for those who aren't as fluent in French. This leads to the third reason, the language particularity.
In spite of the fact that NDI is an American NGO, it makes a considerable effort to tailor its programs to each country. A large part of this effort is the langauge of its programs, materials and publications. Thus, in Morocco there are in Moroccan Arabic and French. The conferences themselves too are in theses languages, usually with a simultaneous translation but sometimes consecutive (simultaneous is UN style, that is th
e presenter carries on in French and there is a translator who translating at the same time - shockingly called simultaneously - with participants having nifty head phones, consecutive means the presenter pauses and lets the translator do the translation then.)All this is well and good, I could happily take the French part and copy it down in note form. However, the final reports I had to write have to be in English. As note-taker, I was faced with the dilemma of note-taking in English while the conference was in French. Luckily I had spent the last 4 months before Morocco in Dijon, France learning French or I wouldn't be able to keep up, let alone talk to the participants. That is not to say that I didn't have a few frantic translation search on my computer... hey, personne n'est parfait.
Yet, where this starts to get really interesting (for those of you keeping track, this is the 4th level of interesting) is when you take into account how many Moroccans speak in a hybrid of French and Arabic (as those of you who have read the previous blog would know). Most of the presenters would keep to one lanuage pretty well. However, once the floor was open to the often copious amounts of comments and questions (remember, loquacious people) the poor translators (one from Arabic to French and one from French to Arabic) often need to switch as participants go from one language to another. This is equally difficult for the participants that only speak one of the languages and, namely, me. Having the headphones in, I would have to take them out to hear the presenter when she spoke in French but put them right back in when she switched to Arabic.
It certainly can get confusing; I remember one time where the translator ended up translating the Arabic into...Arabic, not noticing he wasn't being particularly helpful. Talk about getting lost in translation...But, but, this difficulty is well worth the pain. Yes, for the practical point of best being able to train the participant. Yet, for me the most critical point is to highlight that NDI's work isn't about imposing a specific type of pre-packed democracy to all the nation's it works in. Yes America's model work's fairly well in America, but its clear that for democracy to work, it must be suited the the different nuances of each society. Instead, my understanding of NDI's work (disclaimer: these words are the thoughts of Alex Snider and Alex Snider alone and cannot be linked to the parent organization of which he is an unpaid intern) is that it is about using its expertise and experience to provide tools, support and help to those working to realize their own version of democracy. It's not about creating America's democracy in Morocco or anywhere else and its not anything NDI can do without the dedicate political actors in each of the countries it works in. Above all, NDI is about about helping to facilitate democratie à la Marocaine, designed according to Morocco's social circumstances and priorities, political realities, and, yes, naturally, its language(s).
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Random Story
So I met this guy from Rabat on the train. Just randomly I asked him if he had a favorite restaurant in Rabat. He replied yes and proceeded to describe where it is in a telling fashion:
Him: It's located near the mosque...
Me: Which mosque?
Him: Well, the one by the McDonalds?
Me: Which McDonalds?
Well, that's it. OK I didn't say it was a good story, I just said it was a random one!
Him: It's located near the mosque...
Me: Which mosque?
Him: Well, the one by the McDonalds?
Me: Which McDonalds?
Well, that's it. OK I didn't say it was a good story, I just said it was a random one!
People Dynamics
One of the most interesting things about traveling - for me at least - is not so much those special "ethnic" things that are completely different from one society to another. Instead, it is how they those same daily, routine things are done differently and what this says about that society's priorities and values.
The first thing you realize in just any random conversation is that the whole "personal space bubble" does not apply here. This doesn't just apply to random touching to make a point but also just to where people stand. When I talk to a Moroccan, I often find myself reflexively s
tepping back for no other reason than my eyes aren't used to focusing that close on someone. In the US and Europe we -subconsciously or consciously - give others their space and ensure we are given ours. That's why if you're in an almost empty metro car or bus and you sit next to someone, they might eye you warily. Here, even the monkeys are touchy-feely (see picture).
Another example is business related encounters. In my experience in the State Department, when you call or meet with someone, its mainly business first, everything else is secondary. However, here there is an array pleasantries that must be done before you even start to think about business. It makes life a little less efficient but, at times, it certainly seems worth it.
Anyone devoted to their personal space would not be all too happy in the Medinas (old towns), buses or grand taxis of Morocco. These narrow streets more often than not filled with people, donkeys, bikes and motorcycles are the public's domain. When you talk to anyone expect to have at minimum a handshake if not 2 kisses on the cheek (regardless of sex). The taxis that go longer distances, called grand taxis, have a standard capacity of 4 in the back and 2 in the one front seat. I'm reminded as well of the mini-buses in Cape Town: a number of times I had my face squished against the "Maximum capacity 12" sign as 16+ were piled on top of me. The big city buses of Rabat have small seats and are usually overflowing with people, hence allowing you to get to know the people around you and all the assorted smells that this necessarily entails.
I want to take a minute with the buses. I remember when I first got to Morocco and my friend was telling me how the buses work. And, you certainly do need someone to help you. The routes and schedules are certainly not posted online, and, as far as I know, no hard copy guide exists. People just know. So, being a neophyte, I asked where the bus stop was for the bus I needed. He proceeded to explain the bus stops do not really exist; they usually just a group of people huddled by the side of the road. Interesting, I thought, as I imagined myself ending up somewhere in rural Morocco while my coworkers started to get worried.
With a few exceptions, the buses are fairly old and run down. Little money is wasted in keeping them in good shape or, for that matter, comfortable. They are dirty and pollute a lot, belching black smoke seemingly whenever I'm standing next to one. Often, the drivers will actually come to a complete stop at the stops, sometimes people hop in as it rolls away. The system of collecting money is not high tech - one man (and it is invariably a man)with a bag of coins and carnival-like tickets. They are not user friendly at all. You have to magically find the right place to stand to get on. To get out, there is no fancy button to press, you have to be ready where the stop is, and then bang on the door frame to get it to open up.
But...and there is a but...the buses excel in two key ways - they work ( and quickly so) and they are cheap (4 Dirhams or $0.45 per trip). In other words, they sacrifice style and comfort, but they are effective as they do what they need to do and no more. If you know where the stops are and the procedure for getting off, it certainly does work quickly and easily. And, most everyone on the bus does know how they work. With not a single exception, I have been the only white person every time when I've taken the bus to work.
Someone else extraordinary that I've seen is, every now and then one person will talk to the man collecting money, and, I assume, tell him they can't afford it. The man usually nods, leaves the person be and continues collecting money. I can imagine one pleading such as case in the US would wind up on the sidewalk, not out of a lack of sympathy but rather fear that if they let some do that, others might much such claims and, pardon the pun, try to free ride.
So for me, the bus was trial and error. I definitely missed my stop the first few times because I didn't realize you had to bang on the side of the bus for the driver to open the door...you live, you learn. What I also learned, however, is that these mundane parts of life in Morocco do seem to be more about substance than style. You get close to someone and touch them while you're talking to them to show affection, not worrying about infringing on someone's personal space. The bus isn't pretty but its gets your from point A to point B...well that is if you can figure it out. There are times I really long for online schedules, predictable stops and the peace of mind and calm this all entails.
Yet, I'm also reminded that many people cannot afford such peace of mind - what matters is that it works. In America, more often than not, if something doesn't work we toss it out. But, as a friend of mind, Ben Mansbach talked about in his blog from Cameroon (http://benjamin.nomadlife.org), in Africa people tend to fix them up again and again and again, rather than just buying a new one. Because money certainly is an object, they are eager to substitute style for substance. Maybe this is a trade-off we need to consider a little more back in the good old US. We forget that the reason we take a bus or have a car is to g
et from point A to point B. We forget that what makes life special aren't material comforts but rather the intimate personal relations and interactions that we have with people, be they members of our family, random people we meet in the street or those we do business with.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my convenience and comforts to some extent and feel fortunate to be able to afford them. Yet, too often many in the west, myself included, or others who lead privileged lives regardless of where they live, focus a little too much on the style in which we get somewhere (figuratively or literally), and forget to stop, be thankful, and appreciate the fact that we got there in the first place.
The first thing you realize in just any random conversation is that the whole "personal space bubble" does not apply here. This doesn't just apply to random touching to make a point but also just to where people stand. When I talk to a Moroccan, I often find myself reflexively s
tepping back for no other reason than my eyes aren't used to focusing that close on someone. In the US and Europe we -subconsciously or consciously - give others their space and ensure we are given ours. That's why if you're in an almost empty metro car or bus and you sit next to someone, they might eye you warily. Here, even the monkeys are touchy-feely (see picture).Another example is business related encounters. In my experience in the State Department, when you call or meet with someone, its mainly business first, everything else is secondary. However, here there is an array pleasantries that must be done before you even start to think about business. It makes life a little less efficient but, at times, it certainly seems worth it.
Anyone devoted to their personal space would not be all too happy in the Medinas (old towns), buses or grand taxis of Morocco. These narrow streets more often than not filled with people, donkeys, bikes and motorcycles are the public's domain. When you talk to anyone expect to have at minimum a handshake if not 2 kisses on the cheek (regardless of sex). The taxis that go longer distances, called grand taxis, have a standard capacity of 4 in the back and 2 in the one front seat. I'm reminded as well of the mini-buses in Cape Town: a number of times I had my face squished against the "Maximum capacity 12" sign as 16+ were piled on top of me. The big city buses of Rabat have small seats and are usually overflowing with people, hence allowing you to get to know the people around you and all the assorted smells that this necessarily entails.
I want to take a minute with the buses. I remember when I first got to Morocco and my friend was telling me how the buses work. And, you certainly do need someone to help you. The routes and schedules are certainly not posted online, and, as far as I know, no hard copy guide exists. People just know. So, being a neophyte, I asked where the bus stop was for the bus I needed. He proceeded to explain the bus stops do not really exist; they usually just a group of people huddled by the side of the road. Interesting, I thought, as I imagined myself ending up somewhere in rural Morocco while my coworkers started to get worried.
With a few exceptions, the buses are fairly old and run down. Little money is wasted in keeping them in good shape or, for that matter, comfortable. They are dirty and pollute a lot, belching black smoke seemingly whenever I'm standing next to one. Often, the drivers will actually come to a complete stop at the stops, sometimes people hop in as it rolls away. The system of collecting money is not high tech - one man (and it is invariably a man)with a bag of coins and carnival-like tickets. They are not user friendly at all. You have to magically find the right place to stand to get on. To get out, there is no fancy button to press, you have to be ready where the stop is, and then bang on the door frame to get it to open up.
But...and there is a but...the buses excel in two key ways - they work ( and quickly so) and they are cheap (4 Dirhams or $0.45 per trip). In other words, they sacrifice style and comfort, but they are effective as they do what they need to do and no more. If you know where the stops are and the procedure for getting off, it certainly does work quickly and easily. And, most everyone on the bus does know how they work. With not a single exception, I have been the only white person every time when I've taken the bus to work.
Someone else extraordinary that I've seen is, every now and then one person will talk to the man collecting money, and, I assume, tell him they can't afford it. The man usually nods, leaves the person be and continues collecting money. I can imagine one pleading such as case in the US would wind up on the sidewalk, not out of a lack of sympathy but rather fear that if they let some do that, others might much such claims and, pardon the pun, try to free ride.
So for me, the bus was trial and error. I definitely missed my stop the first few times because I didn't realize you had to bang on the side of the bus for the driver to open the door...you live, you learn. What I also learned, however, is that these mundane parts of life in Morocco do seem to be more about substance than style. You get close to someone and touch them while you're talking to them to show affection, not worrying about infringing on someone's personal space. The bus isn't pretty but its gets your from point A to point B...well that is if you can figure it out. There are times I really long for online schedules, predictable stops and the peace of mind and calm this all entails.
Yet, I'm also reminded that many people cannot afford such peace of mind - what matters is that it works. In America, more often than not, if something doesn't work we toss it out. But, as a friend of mind, Ben Mansbach talked about in his blog from Cameroon (http://benjamin.nomadlife.org), in Africa people tend to fix them up again and again and again, rather than just buying a new one. Because money certainly is an object, they are eager to substitute style for substance. Maybe this is a trade-off we need to consider a little more back in the good old US. We forget that the reason we take a bus or have a car is to g
et from point A to point B. We forget that what makes life special aren't material comforts but rather the intimate personal relations and interactions that we have with people, be they members of our family, random people we meet in the street or those we do business with.Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my convenience and comforts to some extent and feel fortunate to be able to afford them. Yet, too often many in the west, myself included, or others who lead privileged lives regardless of where they live, focus a little too much on the style in which we get somewhere (figuratively or literally), and forget to stop, be thankful, and appreciate the fact that we got there in the first place.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Newfound Patriotism
Yesterday was the 4th of July, usually a day that only means fireworks and a party for me. Today, moreso than ever before, I had a swelling of patriotism coming up to this day. That was surprising for me, particularly being in an area that never lets you forget about Iraq or Israel. Yet, what these many conversation have done - with people from taxi drivers, to shop-keepers, to those involved in Moroccan politics, is to yes, remind me of the bad America has done, but also, in defending my country against such overly-unflattering portrayals, I remember all the good we have done and all the important values we more often than not stand for.
The irony is, is that when I am in the states, I can't help but recoil when I see an American flag or hear that chillingly-catchy country song "Proud to be an American". I can't help but think about all the bad things Bush has done to threaten a lot of what I hold dear. Whenever I meet a foreigner there talking about how great America is I say "Well, wait a minute - we aren't even close to perfect.." and so on, presenting the picture that all of the good things America and Americans dois somehow mitigated by the bad. Yet, here, when I hear some critical of America, my reaction is the opposition - that, yes, we have done some bad things, but we are also a great source for good and that all the good certainly does offset certain, shall we say, lapses in judgment.
For those who have seen the movie Goodbye Lenin, it's been a similar experience to that of the main character, who when looking back at pre-fall of the Berlin wall Germany, appreciate some of the things he had neglected. That is one of the fantastic things about traveling - you get to go outside of the context you know, seeing the things you thought you knew from a new perspective. I'm reminded of a T.S.Elliot quote: " We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. "
So, for the 4th a threw a cloyingly patriotic 4th of July party, including fireworks (the powerpoint variety) and good old Moroccan-made hamburgers and hot dogs. Yet, during the party, I did try to remind people (about 3/4 foreigners) that the reason we celebrate 4th of July in the States - well at least the reason why I did it this year and why I will continue into the future - is to celebrate the great values and ideals the nation was founded on, and our responsibility to live up to these ideals in our actions within and outside of our nation's borders every day.
And, yes, I did play "Proud to be American"... that song sure is catchy...
The irony is, is that when I am in the states, I can't help but recoil when I see an American flag or hear that chillingly-catchy country song "Proud to be an American". I can't help but think about all the bad things Bush has done to threaten a lot of what I hold dear. Whenever I meet a foreigner there talking about how great America is I say "Well, wait a minute - we aren't even close to perfect.." and so on, presenting the picture that all of the good things America and Americans dois somehow mitigated by the bad. Yet, here, when I hear some critical of America, my reaction is the opposition - that, yes, we have done some bad things, but we are also a great source for good and that all the good certainly does offset certain, shall we say, lapses in judgment.
For those who have seen the movie Goodbye Lenin, it's been a similar experience to that of the main character, who when looking back at pre-fall of the Berlin wall Germany, appreciate some of the things he had neglected. That is one of the fantastic things about traveling - you get to go outside of the context you know, seeing the things you thought you knew from a new perspective. I'm reminded of a T.S.Elliot quote: " We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. "
So, for the 4th a threw a cloyingly patriotic 4th of July party, including fireworks (the powerpoint variety) and good old Moroccan-made hamburgers and hot dogs. Yet, during the party, I did try to remind people (about 3/4 foreigners) that the reason we celebrate 4th of July in the States - well at least the reason why I did it this year and why I will continue into the future - is to celebrate the great values and ideals the nation was founded on, and our responsibility to live up to these ideals in our actions within and outside of our nation's borders every day.
And, yes, I did play "Proud to be American"... that song sure is catchy...
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