Thanks to our members for over 150 e-mails about how our organization should proceed after the election... here are some representative selections of what you all said: “After many fierce arguments with people from both the red and blue states prior to election night, I feel that the great hardship is in the ideological divide between the two groups, and the generalizations and misconceptions spread against each. Not all the red voters shall we call them are christian fundamentalists/extremists and not all blue voters are tree hugging anti-americans. … [Read more...]

Stephanie Mott makes some excellent points in ‘What are we promoting: Democracy or Disgust?’ She is absolutely right to distinguish between what ought to be separate goals of US foreign policy: promotion of democracy, and national security (though one could argue that a proper pursuit of the first contributes to the second). As Stephanie points out, President Bush originally justified his war in Iraq as means to security – only later did it become a ‘democratizing’ mission. It is difficult to overstate the damage that Bush did to the United … [Read more...]

In response to a barrage of post-election comments and questions from his spanish friends, Paul Shirk (who is currently abroad in Spain) planned a "conference" with the hope that spanish students can ask freely about the perspectives that he and his companions, from the Univ of California program, have about American politics and culture. Here is his report on the conference:"Our conference here went really well; at least from the measure of energy and participation.  We were 80 strong - 20 of my American peers and 60 of my Spanish … [Read more...]

Having spent several days coming to terms with the results of the US presidential election, I think I’ve gained a better grasp on the philosophy of political radicalism and partisan loyalty. It started when things started looking dim for Kerry in the early hours of the morning here in Berlin. Around 6 AM, I began toying with visions of the unthinkable, of becoming one of those neo-dissident, think-not-with-your-brain-but-with-the-chip-on-the-shoulder leftists destined to spend their political lives preaching to the choir. I say unthinkable because I … [Read more...]

Soon after the election, I e-mailed AID's listserv to say that "Based on exit poll data, which shows a painfully divided country, I think it is simply being honest to say that many of us in the red and blue states simply do not understand one another... I really believe that the only way that we as a nation can develop a sustainable and effective foreign policy is if we begin to understand and respect the different viewpoints in our country and search out opportunities for common ground. On that note, I think it is critical that we as an … [Read more...]

Several of my friends have been sending various pieces of writing around in response to the election. I sat down yesterday (November 4) to do something similar, partly just to vent, partly in the hopes to start floating some ideas around and get people thinking about a way out of this mess, this polarized (as the pundits like to call it) America... I am in what could best be described as post-electoral depression. I remember when the U.S. most recently went to war in Iraq, my cousin in Germany (I still lived in Boston at the time) called me and talked … [Read more...]

In the Face to Face dialogues, I made the point that the U.S. should make a distinction between its efforts to promote democracy and its responses to security threats. Otherwise, the perceived hypocrisy in its diplomacy may anger and alienate both allies and enemies, leaving America alone and precluding the possibility of multilateralism in the future. I’ve elaborated on these thoughts (rather at length - sorry about that!) here: There is something we have come to know as the Democratic Peace Theory. The idea behind it is heartwarming and perhaps even … [Read more...]

Hi all, I am passing on the message below on behalf of AID member Stephanie Mott who is an American abroad in Berlin, Germany. For an American living abroad, trying to stay in touch with American, Californian and Sacramento politics presents an interesting challenge. California-brand direct democracy especially makes me question where I stand: despite my status as a registered voter of Sacramento County, despite my careful poring over the Official Voter Information Guide, what business do I really have voting on local ballot measures in a city over 5,500 … [Read more...]

The post below is by Ryan Richards, a Juniata College student who is currently studying International Development and Spanish in Puebla, Mexico. I used to believe that the world was like the movies; the good guys battled the bad guys and one was distinguished as good or evil by the color of the horse they rode. For me, the U.S. always rode the white horse. " When I was a child, I thought like a child." Now, I am abroad in Mexico, and I've had to put such childish thinking behind me. The United States is regularly mentioned in my Latin American History … [Read more...]

It would be hypocritical to say that the French do not like Americans. No matter where you look, there's evidence of American influence, whether it's the McDo on every other corner, the American team jerseys sported by the youth, or the American music blasted at the clubs. What I have discovered, time and time again, is that the French do not hate Americans. On the contrary, they love Americans. They love us for our differences: our friendliness, our freedoms, our independence. But one thing they do not love, (and this is where Americans confuse French … [Read more...]