Nina || hetero || cisfemale || Malaysian. [Malaysia, politics, (pop) culture, travels, food, crafting] links & thoughts
An American in a Strange Land
An American in a Strange Land
I heard it often, traveling around Europe as a journalist. I even heard it from an immigration officer at Gatwick Airport outside London, who teased me as he looked at my passport. I was an American abroad, which meant being held accountable for the strange and fevered state of my homeland, which meant facing some version of the question "What is going on in the United States?"
Economic globalization was supposed to accelerate political liberalization around the world, but instead authoritarianism appeared to be on the rise. The West, it seemed, had failed to anticipate the possibility that globalization could contribute to the destabilization of — or pose a threat to — democracy, even in the United States.
This summer, I decided I wanted to explore this place that had become a foreign country to me. I didn’t understand what had happened since I left, why so many people seemed so disillusioned and angry. I planned a zigzag route, revisiting places where I once lived or worked, a 29-day sprint through 11 states (and four time zones). I knew I would be moving too fast to make any sweeping declaration about the state of America, and I wouldn’t ask people which presidential candidate they were voting for. I was more interested in why they were so anxious about the present and the future. I wanted to find out why the country was fragmenting rather than binding together. Most of all I wanted to see with my own eyes what had changed — and so much had changed.
black humour moment of the day amongst my colleagues and friends included seriously asking if this is now the moment to start sending development aid towards democracy capacity-building and rights-based governance to the US and the UK. who's going to fund it though? (multilateral funding! public-private partnership! kill me with this jargon!!)




China Just Won The U.S. Election - i literally know ppl who are attending one of those 'One Road, One Belt' events this week. i can't believe our national pivot is on point.