A well-meaning friend sent me a State Department issued travel advisory for Nigeria. Yes, there are a lot of serious problems in Nigeria at this time.
Then I wondered what a travel advisory for the United States would look like? We are so quick to criticize and site all the issues other nations face. Yet, we have a phenomenal number of problems in our own backyard as well.
Referencing crime that occurs across U.S cities, one DC resident was quoted as saying “Unfortunately these things happen.” Unfortunate to say the least!
Some people around the world believe that many, if not most, Americans carry weapons. So their perceptions of us are also often generalized and twisted.
As a young teenager living in Uganda, I read one of my dad’s books called “The Ugly American”—it was my first understanding that Americans were often perceived rather negatively.
As we travel for work and pleasure around the world, it would help to keep in mind that what we have assumed applies to all of “them” may be what “they” assume applies to all of us.
Be cautious and be open,
