Defending One's Country

I was asked to teach a lesson yesterday on gun violence and school shootings in the US. Having recently lost a friend at Virginia Tech, this was the last topic I wanted to teach. However, as another friend pointed out to me, a "real-life" story would make the lesson all the more compelling. Okay, fine.

As the period progressed, the discussion evolved from one on school violence to one on the upcoming Supreme Court case interpreting the Second Amendment to one on the United States' tendency to police the world.

Had it been up to me, we would have stayed with the topic of violence in the US, but this particular teacher always tries to incorporate the highest number of current events into his lessons as possible, and hence the evolution of topics. I've learned to deal with his teaching style, and honestly, it isn't that big of a deal as long as I've been keeping up on world (and US) politics, but yesterday he took things too far. While debating how the US does or does not meddle in other countries' affairs, particularly those of the Middle East, he suggested in his Devil's Advocate manner that the US should incorporate Iraq and Iran as the 51st and 52nd states of the nation because it already controls so many of the laws, customs, and financial interactions in these two countries anyway.

While I obviously disagree with his facetious comment about the 51st and 52nd states, I do agree that the US interferes too much in the daily life of people in Iraq and Iran. As I expressed and elaborated upon these sentiments, the teacher exclaimed from the back of the room: "Defend your country for once!" I was shocked into silence for a moment. I'm not here to defend the United States; I'm here to try to explain it. There's a huge difference between the two. According to Fulbright's mission statement, I should be increasing "mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries", namely Austria. Believe it or not, I'm not personally responsible for every US action from World War I to the present. Nor am I going to defend US activities with which I don't agree. Likewise, I will verbally defend my country when appropriate.

In my moment of stunned silence, I wish I could have told him: I am only one person. I may come from the US, but I cannot represent the entire nation, just as one person in Austria cannot represent the entire Austrian nation. I have some impressions and some experiences to offer if you want to listen. Of course, I want to hear your experiences, too. This is how we begin a mutual relationship; this is how we increase mutual understanding. We are all global citizens, human beings. Our humanity must come before our politics, not just in theory but also in real-life interactions. Remember: we are teachers. When we teach, our students listen. This is how they learn. What did they learn today?

Word of the Day: verteidigen = to defend