DJ FC

My perspective of America has changed greatly this year - for quite a few reasons.

Nearly all of it comes from the viewpoint of international professors and students.

My upper-level business class professors' nationalities are as follows:1 Canadian, 1 Chinese, 1 Indian (Dots not Feathers), 1 American, 1 Latvian, 1 German, and 1 Korean. On top of this, students in my second major (Business Economics and Public Policy) are particularly international. I have worked with students from Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Bahamas, and elsewhere around the globe. The one thing that all these people have in common is that they came from all over the globe to the middle of Indiana to work and study. And these aren't just doctoral students and 1 semester students either. They are permanent residents. My Korean statistics professor is even so famous that students in Korea do their studies abroad at IU just to take his class. He's only here for the money.

One thing you may notice, is that foreign students of Chinese dissent (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.) are particularly equipped for studying in the States. Their main advantage over Indian, South American, and Eastern European students? It is customary to choose a Western name for use in business settings and when dealing with the Western world. I was floored when I learned this fact.

Ever meet an Asian who had a Western name? The 3 I converse with the most go by "Shawn," "Patrick," and "Clement." But these are not their official names. In their equivalent of Kindergarten (at least for the Hong Kong students) the children are allowed to choose the name that they will use for the rest of their business lives. In China, it is common to conduct business in English. This seems ridiculous to us. Americans wouldn't consider it prudent to adopt their name to a more easily pronounced Eastern name, even if they planned on living in the East. But the Chinese in particular seem to find no problem in this.

Why is it that these students are so accepting of Western names? Why are they willing to travel to America for an education?

Because as much as you hate to believe it, as much as the cynics on Comedy Central making fun of G Dub would have you not believe, America really is top dog in the world.

First a disclaimer: I do not believe that people need to be ignorant rednecks. If anything, I think an approach similar to my Chinese friends' can get you far.

The United States dollar is the preferred currency in the world. There is talk of the Euro, Euro, Euro, but the Euro is too new and still relatively unproven. You know how I know the US dollar is the best? Because it's the preferred choice of underground drug and arms dealers. The black market will always operate with the strongest currency available - because they have no recourse and their ability to use electronic banking is severely limited.

Unlike most currencies in the world, the US dollar has little to zero risk of severe inflation. We, as youths, in America take this fact for granted, but ask someone who's been through a hyper-inflation their view of money and they will give you a very jaded and cynical viewpoint. A professor of mine, who's job it is to go into countries that have had economic crises and rebuild their central banks, tells us of visiting countries like Argentina who have experienced hyper-inflations. Suddenly money isn't worth anything anymore. Elderly can be found on street corners trying to sell everything they own after the hyper-inflation, because their fixed income can no longer buy a McDonald's hamburger. In the world of money - stability is everything. And when you wake up in the morning and reach for your crisp $20 from your wallet for some McDonald's Breakfast, there isn't a sliver of doubt in your mind that you have enough money to pay for it. That $20 has REAL value, and always will.

The US dollar is so good that other countries even make it their official currency. Many people are not aware of the fact that some countries cannot be trusted with their own monetary policy. They've screwed it up so badly, that their only recourse is to use another, already established currency. The nations of Equidor, El Salvador, and East Timor all use US dollars as official! On top of this, many other nations permanently peg their currency to the US dollar - which means the US dollar essentially becomes the official currency, because the dollar can fluctuate and their currency cannot. Countries with this behavior are Bermuda, the Bahamas, Panama, Barbados, Belize, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

Beyond money, our economy kicks ass. There will always be inflation, but so long as your GDP out paces that inflation, then you are making real progress, and the average person is becoming increasingly more wealthy. Well guess what, GDP is out pacing inflation by about 3.5% per year. This is plain sick and nasty when it comes to continued growth. We are the most developed economy in the world. Our GDP is 10 Trillion Dollars. And we are growing at 3.5% real GDP growth. Compare this number with Europe - something between 1 and 2%. Certainly developing economies are growing faster by percent - I believe China was somewhere around 9% growth. But if the US continues this 3.5% growth (which many economists say is more than likely), no other economy will ever catch up to us.

Then there is our political system. Sure we have our critics. And our president isn't exactly a role-model for fostering international support. But the US is designed at the most basic levels to be an open, freedom fostering system. It has it's flaws, but currently we are one of the best political systems in the world - by any measure. And while you may hear on the news how much other nations hate us, thats like saying we hate the French. We don't really hate the French, and we certainly like their champaign. In reality, most of the world enjoys American culture and American products.

The way I see it is this: We should be proud, and thankful that we live under such a system, and with the standard of living we enjoy. But we shouldn't be arrogant fucks and fuck it all up. Look to the Chinese as an example. Be humble, and accepting of other countries when doing business with them. As a nation - be proud of your accomplishments. As an individual - take advantage of the situation you are given.