Do You Travel Overseas? Have Friends or Family from Other Countries? Buy Imported Foods and Products?

I am a retired career U.S. Foreign Service Officer who has watched the slash-and-burn tactics of the Trump Administration in foreign policy -- and the ensuing damage to America's standing in the world -- with sadness and horror. The national interest and well-being of the United States are not well-served by wiping out decades of confidence-building, educational and cultural exchange, political and military alliances, trade agreements, human rights and religious freedom initiatives, progress in child labor, workers' rights, and labor laws in general, humanitarian aid programs, international research and information sharing, the list goes on and on. The Trump Administration has slashed and burned the image that so many overseas people respect -- the United States of America as a free nation under the rule of law, standing firmly for democratic ideals, fairness, equality, protecting the downtrodden and vulnerable, and offering opportunity to those who work hard and play by the rules.

Yes, systems and processes are always imperfect and sometimes unpredictable, but foreign policy and foreign aid were administered by a corps of dedicated career Foreign Service Officers (aka FSOs or diplomats) and Civil Service employees who understood that public service was a calling, and that the oath to support and defend the Constitution was a serious commitment. Responsible employers, CEOs, and government leaders whether municipal, state or national undertake reform and "streamlining" with a plan, with priorities, purpose, input from those on the ground, and a transparent process. To terminate FSOs and Civil Service staff based on their geographic location (WashDC vs. overseas embassies and consulates), their current and/or future assignments (summer is the traditional transfer time, when families can be uprooted because school is not in session), or because you happen not to like the portfolios they are handling (climate change, human rights, etc.) is short-sighted and stupid.

So the United States is no longer concerned about environmental disasters and climate change, the development of democratic institutions, human rights protection, religious freedom, scientific research cooperation, educational and cultural exchange (Trump has basically killed the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship program), sports exchanges, world hunger and disaster relief, freedom of information, an independent media, labor union rights, preventing child labor, open navigation of the seas, trade agreements, promoting U.S. business opportunities abroad, the safety of imported food products, developing international technical and industrial standards, unethical/illegal foreign adoptions, the list goes on and on. Not only will there be a brain drain of creativity, innovation, and work ethic, but there will be a freeze on them as well. The best and the brightest will go elsewhere, or be left to stagnate under a regime which decides what they can invent or research or develop.

Strictly foreign aid (not foreign military assistance such as provided to Israel and other nations) and the entire U.S. Department of State's budget together comprise not even 1% of the total federal government budget. It's like a Starbuck's every other week.

There are many Americans who shrug off any responsibility to the outside world, to "foreigners," to these "other people." And yet now more than ever, ALL OF OUR FUTURES are tied to one another. People are traveling in record numbers; audio and visual communication is instantaneous; the news cycle has been 24/7 for decades now; drones are used for everything from military targeting to home food deliveries. Skokie is a welcoming haven to a multitude of native-born Americans, naturalized citizens, Legal Permanent Residents, law-abiding documented and undocumented immigrants who are following a legal procedure for regularizing their status. We owe it to each other to care about our neighbors, and our country's reputation and standing in the world.

Do you wonder what goes on at (what is left of) U.S. embassies and consulates around the world? We used to have 99.9% global representation (no North Korea or Iran), with more than 250 posts to serve American citizens overseas and advance U.S. interests. Today, China outpaces us in numbers, programs, and economic investments. There are waiting lists to learn Chinese in the PRC cultural centers in South America. China has been training Brazil's commercial airline pilots since at least 2007. China's global infrastructure development project "Belts and Roads" is investing in close to 150 nations and international organizations to improve transportation, shipping, and trade links.

What does the Foreign Service and Civil Service do for you? Let me tell you from my personal experience of 31 years, assigned to Uruguay, Colombia, Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, and Chile. I have lived and worked under military dictatorships, drug cartel corruption, apartheid, and Communism, and seen countries torn apart by near civil wars pitting neighbor against neighbor. So I have experienced both the worst and the best of humanity. And I have seen the hope and inspiration that the U.S. can offer.

In no particular chronological order, my fellow FSOs helped a fledgling theater and performing arts workers' union get off the ground in apartheid South Africa. We re-established the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship exchange program for grad students and professors there, and we established a new Fulbright exchange program in Vietnam. Students and professors represented fields as varied as constitutional history, sustainable agriculture, public health administration, urban planning, and marine biology -- all areas where developing countries could benefit from U.S. expertise.

My fellow FSOs took care of thousands of Americans who faced personal problems and tragedies overseas. We contacted the parents of a young man who had committed suicide; we found a suit for a deceased man to wear at his funeral; we found an American sailor who got capsized in his attempt to circle the globe solo. In the days before Google Translate and e-mails, we translated Spanish-language medical records into English and faxed them to anguished parents waiting for an operation at a Houston hospital. We helped U.S. parents who were involved in terrible child custody battles with foreign ex-spouses who had taken the child overseas in violation of U.S. law. We helped shut down American adoption agencies and corrupt foreign government officials who were using eager American families to basically finance overseas baby farms (think puppy mills). American Cultural Centers offered English classes, courses on U.S. films, theater and literature, lectures on constitutional rights and civil rights, doing business in the U.S., environmental conservation, protecting archeological and indigenous artifacts, etc.

Our FSOs regularly met with religious leaders and human rights leaders in the far corners of countries whose governments wanted everyone to toe the party line. And if that meant silencing people by destroying their houses of worship, imprisoning or putting their leaders under house arrest, and harassing and driving the faithful out of their jobs, homes, schools, villages, etc., it was our job to bear witness, pass messages, report back to Washington, and offer support where we could. In some cases, we helped their families obtain refugee or political asylum status in the U.S.

Commerce Department and State Department FSOs regularly championed U.S. companies' bids for major foreign contracts. They negotiated trade agreements which provided for expanded quotas for U.S.-manufactured goods -- including agricultural and livestock products. They negotiated reductions in tariffs not mutual increases, supported the rights of workers to unionize, and monitored the host country's compliance with child labor laws, always trying to ensure that what Americans bought, ate, and wore was produced ethically and safely.

My own assignments in cultural and educational exchange offices brought the best of American creativity and performance to Colombia and South Africa: San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the David Holt Trio, and laid the groundwork for the Dance Theater of Harlem to visit a post-apartheid South Africa. The International Visitors Program used to provide a 30-day exchange visit to the U.S. for both promising and established foreign professionals in all walks of life. It was their chance to have meaningful interactions with Americans in their professions. The IV Program's participants went on to become Supreme Court justices, managing editors for major news publications, museum directors, American history professors, union organizers, environmental researchers, deans of medical and law schools, award-winning composers and authors, and police academy administrators back in their home countries -- and Americans helped shape their world view.

During these visits, the International Visitor was asked what was the one "fun" thing they wanted to do -- something quintessentially American? Attend a baseball game or a Broadway show, go on a weekend ride with the local Hell's Angels group, learn how to square dance and line dance, hike in Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, meet a cowboy and ride a horse on a ranch, observe a court case, go to a jazz concert, see a reenactment of a Revolutionary War or Civil War battle -- these are just some of the IV requests (all fulfilled) that I remember. And I am just one FSO. Multiply this by the thousands of FSOs over the years and the many future foreign leaders in their fields who have experienced the U.S. in this way over the past 50+ years. It leaves an impact and impression on everyone for life.

Nobody goes into a life of public service for big bucks or lavish lifestyles. We take the oath of worldwide availability, and it's all not Paris, London, or Rome. It's developing countries with erratic gas supplies, electricity rationing, no potable water, no safe blood supply. Places where you carry your own forks and spoons and chopsticks to use if you eat out, even if it is a well-known contact's home. It's crazy, dangerous traffic and carrying double insurance -- both U.S. and host country -- for your household items and car. It's knowing if there is a serious accident or illness, you hope you can be quickly evacuated to a more developed country for treatment/surgery. It's knowing you will likely miss some important milestone events: a college graduation, a close friend's wedding, a 50th wedding anniversary, the birth of a child or grandchild, and the chance to spend quality time with a parent or loved one in the U.S before they die. It sometimes means being followed and harassed by undercover and plainclothes police; having your phone lines, television, and internet cut off by internal security, finding your car tires slashed. Your career FSOs are the first line of defense of U.S. interests in the world. You want a strong, knowledgeable, committed diplomatic corps selected through a merit-based process, who uphold their oath to the Constitution and serve the American people, not any single administration, political party, or individual. America's diplomats know we cannot save everybody or solve every problem, but we believe the United States of America is too rich a country, too generous a country, and too creative a country to simply keep it to ourselves.

By sharing our knowledge, experience, principles, and values, diplomats affirm our nation's place on the international stage. We don't whine about "witch hunts," or complain about whether starving children have taken the time to send thank you notes to our President. We don't attack foreign leaders who are shedding their national blood in defense of democratic ideals; we don't ambush them with videos of alleged "massacres" which aren't even videos of their country.

I am not going to say, c'mon folks, we're better than this, because to tell you the truth, under the Current Administration I am no longer sure. So I am turning local, since even as a small "village," Skokie can make a difference -- it does indeed take a village to turn values and ideals into action, protect our historical legacies, and plan for the future.