Untitled Document
On a recent trip I had to good fortune to be seated with three foreign-born executives,
two who make their living in the United States and another who hopes to leave
the European banking world to work here. Each was from a different country, countries
we read about almost daily, but that remain for many of us an enigma if not a
mystery: Pakistan, India and Turkey. As the evening unfolded, our conversation
moved into the potentially touchy territory of how the United States is perceived
in developing countries and in rapidly emerging economies. Each person was quick
to differentiate their views on specific U.S foreign policies from their affection
for American people and, interestingly, from what our country offered them and
continues to offer the rest of the world. One line “It is not who you are
it is what you represent” crystallized for me that America remains the beacon
of light for the rest of the world. It was spoken by a woman who, while she loves
her country, has applied for American citizenship. She noted proudly how in the
United States she can hold on to her cultural heritage (much in the same way that
my immigrant grandparents did) but fully participate in commerce, community and
policy. She is a very senior executive and she openly practices her Muslim faith
at work. She encounters no ill will or discrimination. Another, the CFO of a major
international financial institution, noted to me that in the United States “education
equals equality." Here, he said, it isn’t about where you are born
or the socio-educational status of your parents, it is about the quality of your
brain and your innate desire to get ahead that propels your success. Not so in
his country. The third member of our dinner circle was an aerospace engineer.
He came to this country to work, saw a market niche, started his own small business
and now heads a globally recognized company. His life, he pointed out, would have
taken a very different path had he not come to the United States to work. Three
very different people, all of whom love their native countries, but three people
for whom America embodies the spirit captured in the lady that stands in New York
Harbor.
I tell this story to remind all of us that, having come through this past brutal
and sometimes distasteful political season, we cannot allow ourselves to forget
that the United States stands, in the words of President Kennedy, to all of
those seeking a better life “as watchmen on the walls of freedom”
and that Vermont still remains that place described by Calvin Coolidge: “…If
the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support
of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous
store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont.” We are
better than our dialogue, better than our political ads, and better than our
seemingly feckless policy. Just ask those who yearn to come here.
Thanks. Your comments are always welcome.
