Our national reputation abroad

It perhaps goes without saying, but the United States has a complex relationship with the rest of the world. Our reputation has evolved over the course of the past century of American involvement of international affairs, and a rapid increase in globalization has made the perception of the United States abroad change significantly even in the past several decades.

The previous generation saw the rise and fall of Communism, which in many ways kept the rest of the world at bay in terms of economic and political power. European countries were battered from two world wars and quite simply didn't have the manpower to challenge the United States economically. The rest of the world was neatly divided up into Second and Third World countries, which showed they couldn't keep up. America had a wonderful system going: by being so far ahead of the rest of the world, they were able to attract the top talent, and by attracting the top talent, they were able to stay ahead of the rest of the world. Donna and I were talking to Dr. Joshi, and he said that he felt that most of his graduating class in medical school went to America to practice, and that he himself felt that the United States was where he ultimately belonged. Mr. Desai, the CEO of Virgo, came from a very modest Indian home and has expanded his Indian business to the United States. For Indians who made it to the United States, they were able to achieve that were guaranteed upward mobility and a way of life far beyond what they could hope for back at home.

Yet this mindset has significantly shifted. Communism is largely gone, and the world is no longer neatly divided into First, Second, and Third World countries. The chief ideological battle we are fighting in the United States is against terrorism, which has had mixed results abroad. To date, India has been largely free from any suspicion of harboring terrorists (despite having the world's second-largest Muslim population, no known member of al-Qaeda has ever come from India). However, the war in Afghanistan and the search for bin Laden has led the United States to soften its stance towards Pakistan. Given the enmity between Pakistan and India, it is no surprise that many Indians feel a bit of consternation over this friendship. It seems common knowledge in India that many of the weapons America has given to Pakistan to fight the War on Terror have been shipped off to the Kashmir region to fight India.

On a more individual note, there is a significant shift in attitude among Indians from our generation. The education system here in India, while still falling far short of educating all its citizens, still manages to churn out some of the smartest and well-educated graduates the world. India's Technology Institutes are known for the intensity of their curriculum--a curriculum that would make any American university look like high school. On top of that, opportunities for these new engineering graduates are becoming more and more plentiful in India. Several times while we've been here, we've seen brand new malls that are available to a newly educated elite. And an educated elite that is content to stay right here in India, enjoying the benefits of an upper-class lifestyle brought on by outsourced jobs from the United States.

We've found that many of the Indians here have little interest in going to the United States, unlike their parent's generation. The United States is no longer the dream of the Indian elite--not when a comfortable lifestyle is easily had here in India. And indeed, this makes sense. If you can have a top-notch education, a comfortable lifestyle, and upward mobility without leaving behind your culture, cuisine, and family , why would you move to the United States? In other words, the rest of the world is catching up...