It's a terrifying thought that some people could hate us—not me, not you, but the generic us, Americans—so much that they would be willing to train for years for an attack like the one on September 11 in which they and many Americans (and non-Americans) died. How and why, we wonder, could this be?

It may almost be too soon for us to even think of this question. Nerves are too raw. We are vulnerable. But if we are to change things in the long-term, we have to understand the ways in which our attitudes and behavior in the past have moved some fanatics over the edge, and many others to the edge of their patience and tolerance.

I have spent a quarter of my time over the past twenty years traveling to other countries, primarily in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where The Synergos Institute, a non-profit organization I founded, works with local partners to find solutions to poverty problems. In the course of thousands of conversations—mostly friendly, but sometimes questioning or angry—with people from many countries, I have glimpsed a perspective that might not be apparent to those of us who travel less.

First, I have rarely encountered anyone who tars us all with the same brush. Even in Cuba, with which we have a hostile relationship, people and government officials are quick to make a distinction between our government's policies and the many good qualities they see in the American people. One Cuban friend wrote last week saying he was going to try to donate blood since he had nothing else to give us.

Second, even when people are fed up or angry with our policies or our attitudes, I often encounter a questioning, almost wistful curiosity, as opposed to intransigent hostility; how is it that the American people fail to recognize A, B or C?

So what is it they don't like? What offends more people than anything else is our apparent attitude that, as the world's superpower (and before, as one of two), we feel we can dictate to other countries what they must do. We act as though we are automatically right, the inventors of a particular form of democracy which everyone should practice. They feel we, as a people and as a government, do not take the time to learn about their ways and cultural heritage, that we do not give them respect. Friends in several African countries were offended that we pushed so hard for our particular form of elections and multi-party system even though, they felt that, if applied to them, it could exacerbate ethnic or tribal tensions.

Our carrot and stick approach, which seems to many as more stick than carrot, is often delivered in what is perceived to be an arrogant, demanding way. And even when a government gives in to our demands, our resulting support for their problems is sometimes insufficient to make a real difference in their ability to solve problems they are facing.

Poverty and conflict are number one and two among problems that concern people in the countries where I travel. While many people and governments count on some form of aid from us, they often resent the way it is delivered: rather than consult people about what they most need, we often decide for them and our assessment is not always the same as theirs. While Americans are known for our generosity, we are not always viewed as good partners or strategic allies in our interventions.

We feel sorry that poverty and injustice exist in the world but, in their every day manifestations, we do not view them as our problem. Yet we worry for ourselves when so many people want to sneak across our borders seeking work or refuge.

Perhaps one reason I chose the life path I have is a letter my mother wrote me when I was seven or eight, after visiting Palestinian refugee camps. She supported Israel but wrote that, if an economic and political solution were not found soon, the concentration of people living in poverty, misery and anger would turn into a problem for the world. That was in the 1950s. She was right. There were many countries besides the United States which shared our inaction. Not just because of our continued support for Israel (for there are many who share that), however, but because we stand out as the richest, most powerful country which tells everyone else what to do, much of the wrath from that unresolved problem is directed at us.

Most people with a high school education in most countries where I travel know far more about the United States and other countries in the world than most Americans with college or even graduate degrees know about their regions. Many of them speak our language; so few of us speak, or even try to learn, theirs. Our education system does not prepare our young people to be citizens of the world. Unfortunately, we often come across as ignorant and uninterested in anything that does not directly affects us.

When the September 11 attack happened, I had worried calls and e-mails from people from more than twenty countries. They called to find out if I was all right, but they also called to express their heartfelt grief and horror about what had happened to us as a people. Many expressed a desire to help. I shudder to think how many awful disasters—natural and manmade—have occurred in other countries and how few phone calls I have made or letters sent to express similar concern.

We are such a big country and we have so much to cope with inside our own borders that, as a culture, we have not been inclined to reach out except in some cases of disaster where the human faces we saw on TV touched our hearts. Now we have even more to cope with at home. Our collective grieving, our fears, our anger and our efforts to rebuild our economy will occupy much of our energy in the coming months and years.

Now, though, we need to turn our energy and intelligence into strategies which will prepare our youth better to be citizens of the world. We need to hold onto the memory of how people from other countries reached out to us in our worst moment of need and find ways of doing the same for them. We need to take as a lesson from this horror how intertwined we all are and be prepared to join hands, as people and as governments, in a partner-like way, to address the poverty that robs so many of hope, of opportunity and of health. And we must take the initiative to get to know our neighbors around the world, to dispel myths and prejudices, promote understanding and begin to create human and strategic relations that will enable us all to prevent what happened to us and what has happened to so many families in so many countries from ever happening again.

About the Author
Margaret (Peggy) Dulany, Ed.M.'73, Ed.D.'76, works on education and development issues through The Synergos Institute, the non-governmental organization she founded. More information about Synergos is available on their Web site.

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