An American Sunset, October 29, 2012

So, a little over two weeks ago, I sat against a wall of windows that looked out over an airfield of giant planes, all fueling up for different destinations. We were in one of the Aer Lingus terminals, and surrounded by Irish folk waiting to return home.

As we sat there in the late afternoon, something funny happened. About half a dozen burly Irishmen stood up and pulled out camera phones and their other photographic "weaponry." They began shooting pictures of the New York skyline as the sun was setting. I couldn't help but chuckle. And then it occurred to me--maybe I was missing something. So, I popped out my iPhone and snapped a couple of pics myself.

It was a beautiful sunset. And without the excitement of these enthusiastic photogs, I would have ignored it, in favor of surfing the net or flipping through a magazine or guidebook.

I couldn't see things the way they were seeing them--through an outsider's eyes.

It wasn't the only time during our recent travels that an outsider shed light on a world that I think most of us in America are too disillusioned, and downhearted to see.

On our flight from Chicago to New York, I overheard a young Italian woman discussing her future, and the hopes and dreams she has for herself. She was traveling home after spending time in the Midwest studying. She very much hoped she would be returning to the U.S. for her collegiate studies, and the man she was talking to seemed surprised to hear about her eagerness.

She explained that there are no jobs for her back home, and the freedom she might have to explore career opportunities at home is very limited. I found her account a little surprising myself. The young woman said she wasn't sure what course of study she wanted to follow, and back home the educational structure requires students to select a specific course of study. In America, she would have the opportunity to study with a much broader approach, so she could discover the right career path and avoid having to take a job she didn't like.

As an American, I always took for granted the educational opportunities I had, and while I know that many Americans struggle to have an opportunity for higher education, at least if they get there, they can choose their own path, or even change it.

I know that in the current economic situation, millions of Americans are unemployed, or find themselves in low-paying jobs that are barely making ends meet. It's a tough time. In times like this, it's hard for us to care much about how the rest of the world is doing. But the Irishmen with the cameras, and the young Italian woman reminded me that sometimes we need to look at our situations through different eyes.

We had the opportunity to watch a lot of news while overseas, and we were shocked to learn that unemployment in Ireland is at about fifteen percent. That's nearly double the current unemployment rate of the U.S. Ireland, along with Greece, Spain and Italy, has found itself in the news in recent years for their serious levels of debt, and the fabric of the European Union threatens to unravel as the more economically powerful and successful countries try to keep it afloat.

Along with watching a lot of news, we road in several taxis. And as fantastic as the anchors of RTE' and the BBC are, nobody has the pulse of a nation better than an Irish cabby. On our ride from the Dublin airport to the town center, we had the opportunity to talk to Tony. We try very hard not to be the brash, hurried and impatient Americans that we often see traveling around us. Jeph usually cracks a few jokes about whatever travel dilemmas we "dumb Americans" have found ourselves in, and self-deprecates to the max. In our thirty minute drive, Tony revealed his view of how Ireland got into such dire straits. In the EU, immigration is pretty easy, and in most countries, the government provides for you if you don't have a job. It's expected. The Irish economy is teeny tiny, by comparison to many of its neighbors, and obviously miniscule compared to that of the United States. But he made a point of saying that unlike Las Vegas, what happens in the U.S. economy doesn't stay in the U.S. economy. When we nosedive, the world nosedives. They're all watching the U.S. Presidential Election with concerned and baited breath.

So, when it comes down to it, we may not care about the rest of the world, or our impact on it, but rest assured, the rest of the world still looks to us as a beacon. We're the country that still shines a light of hope for the rest of the world--whether we want to be or not. They view our success or failure as their potential success or failure.

I'm not naive, and I know many of my friends and associates look at the current economy, and want to point fingers of blame. I haven't made my political views a secret, but regardless of what I believe, I'm not so certain that I'm right, and everyone else is wrong, that I would even begin to pontificate about who people should vote for, or what they should think.

A New York Sunset

But a week before our nation peacefully elects the leader who will try to steer this ship for the next four years, I think it's work sharing that while we may be looking at ourselves, and we may be thinking about how bad everything is, there are people everywhere else still seeing America as the place to be. They still see the best hope of change, vitality and greatness on our shores.

Having a positive outlook doesn't create jobs. It doesn't bring down the costs of health care. Positivity isn't going to save Social Security or Medicare. But looking at everything through the mucky, filthy, gray glasses of hopelessness and negativity isn't going to get us anywhere either.

And at the end of the day, we may not care about each other, and we may despise each others' views, but ultimately, just like all of the people who came to this country with hope, we are each other.  And we still are the hope of the world.

In God's Country--U2

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