Japan--A slightly different approach.

So what I decided to do for Japan is to post about different topics that I thought of, instead of listing a huge chronological account of what I did (that is what pictures are for, if you want a story to go along with a picture, check out my pictures, comment, ask, and you shall receive.)

While I was on the Narita Express headed towards the airport, I made a quick list of topics I would write about so I wouldn't forget. The first one, which I'll start with, is being an American abroad. This is perhaps the biggest and broadest of my topics, although maybe the most informed in light of my world travels in the past year. That also means that it's going to drift away from Japan and into France and Hong Kong, but I don't think anyone will mind.

The incident that sparked these ideas in Japan came on a day when I was off exploring by myself (Derek is actually going to school there and whatnot...thus, class and time for me to wander alone which was actually quite fun. But I'll get into the merits of wandering in a new city/country/language with no agenda other than to observe and absorb later). I was in Ueno, which centers around Ueno Koen (上野公園 if we're keeping track), a huge park. The park has a big pond, a couple shrines, and a lot of museums scattered throughout it. I was on my way to a museum about merchant class life in the mid 1900s (the Shitamachi-下町-museum, which actually was disappointing) that was at one corner of the park when a man approached me and asked me if I was from around there. He was a Japanese man, speaking perfect English, and carrying nothing but a can of beer.

So, at this point, I'm looking for what the trick is--as a blonde white girl, I don't think anyone really could have thought I was from "around here". I say no, and he asks immediately, "Canada?", to which I reply close, but America. And here begins the tirade. This man proceeds to tell me that America has lost its respect in the world, and that it will never have a chance to get it back. He tells me that Homeland Security is really in control of the country, and mainly because no one questions their right to do anything as its in the "best interest" of their safety. He tells me that Homeland Security held him for 10 hours when trying to fly to America, questioned him, took his passport, and told him not to return for 20 years. The conversation got awkward and uncomfortable.

What do you say as an American to respond to something like this? I've had similar situations in France as well, when my host family would have guests over for dinner. Each time I was introduced, I knew what to expect--as soon as it was known that I was an American student, I would be bombarded with questions about American foreign policy, why our country does the things it does, and why we hold the views we hold. I tried to answer in both cases in a way that represents my love for this country (because if anything, my travels have proven that I do love America, despite its flaws), but in each case I couldn't find myself in full support of it. In the case of French guests, I found myself explaining that not all Americans hold the same views as our current administration, and that the view of Americans would probably be much more favorable if everyone could learn to separate personal views of individuals from the overall policies presented by our government. This distinction is an important way to get past judgments on country policy and move towards understanding individuals within the society.

As for my Japanese friend, I didn't have much of a response for him. I told him that I don't approve of the blanket of authority granted in the name of protecting national security, and that I value individual rights strongly and feel that exceptions must be made by the government to accommodate these individual rights in its defense plan, not for it to expect citizens to bend their rights to fit the desires of a government, no matter what its intentions. I believe that for the most part, the American government has the best interest of American citizens at heart, but at the same time I can't help but cringe at the precedent set when Americans relinquish their rights to a government that is all too willing to take them to increase its own power.

While I agree that the rights of the individual should be respected above all things, I disagreed with his second point--that America will not be able to regain its good standing in the world. Despite our current bad reputation, America tends to do more for the world in terms of aid, brokering international agreements, and general standard setting than most people are willing to admit. Perhaps its precisely because we have become accustomed to doing so much that it seems that our relative worth is falling in the world, but I have hope that the world will recognize the good that America is doing, or at least the purity of its good intentions, in time. Once we manage to figure our way out of our current conflicts and transition back to the ideal of the benevolent superpower in both word and deed, I firmly believe that America can rise back to the forefront of all nations.

But I have to believe that--I'm American and thus have that eternal and internal sense of optimism that constantly drives Americans towards higher things.

In terms of how this relates to being American abroad, I feel that the best way for anyone to counteract the current negative opinion of our country is to get out and show people the face of the individual American, who provides a much more favorable contact point than news of our foreign policy or current administration.