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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

COLUMN: Visits to 11 countries during time abroad inform perspectives on politics, people

Arts Filler

I have an obsession with figuring out what makes people tick.

I can’t let it go. I will sit and observe the people around me, trying to rationalize why they act the way they do, say the things they say and argue tooth and nail for what they believe in against all rationality.

Some would call this being judgmental, I don’t deny that, but I like to think of it as a productive judgmental mission. I just want to understand why people are the way they are.

This semester I have been to 11 countries, and in each one I tried to immerse myself in the culture. I visited museums and talked to people all around Europe with different perspectives on not only their country but ours as well.

I left the United States thinking we were in a bad state. I felt excited to leave and give myself a break from the negative political atmosphere of the U.S. — this was one of my more naïve moments.

In France, race relations have led to higher tensions than ever before. Italy is in a spiraling economic crisis, and no one knows exactly what’s going on with Brexit. There is a continental refugee crisis, and multiple terrorist attacks occurred during my three months in Europe.

There is something terrifying about the thought that no matter where you go, there are always going to be problems, but it is eye-opening as well.

The reality is, we, as a global community, are a mess. The way I see it, we are socially polarized.

The spectrum of the left and the right is so split from one another it is almost impossible to distinguish those in the middle — it’s universal. 

While abroad, I would hear talk about how our community is at a global turning point right now. It makes sense when you first think about it, but that turning point is actually just our struggling to collaborate on a daily, weekly and centurial basis.

Throughout my political history and theory class this semester, I noticed more than ever the patterns of history around Europe. Revolutions, alliances, people being targeted for being different or challenging the status quo. Many stayed silent through it all. 

This semester I hoped to keep myself engaged and involve others in political discussion, even though a semester abroad seems initially like a vacation. I wanted to give a perspective of a student abroad who was not only learning about the amazing places I was visiting but the people.

We talked a lot of about the unavoidable President Trump. He put a public face on the far right and spurred a discussion that was already creeping up onto the global political stage. Right now, France is undergoing a tense election between Marine La Pen, a nationalist far-right candidate and Emmanuel Macron, a centrist. 

That was just one example. Brexit was another. On either side, you can read something terrible or incredible about either candidate, either party, either side of any aisle you’re looking at. It just depends on where you look, so look everywhere.

I searched for perspective during this semester abroad. There is no way to find all the answers, of course. We are too many, and there are too many perspectives to consider on any issue, but I continue in my search to find what makes us all tick. 

It stems from within the person, at the core, and it transcends and translates into any language. It runs deeper than any political belief or outward action. In a way, I hope that one day we all figure it out and have a better understanding of each other.

I don’t mind that we don’t, too. I love the argument. I disagreed with many people during the course of this semester and heard and attempted to understand other people's beliefs and priorities, but they attempted to understand mine too, which is what matters. 

This makes me feel better about the fact that even though there are people who are so adamant about their own beliefs and will do terrible things to stop others from disagreeing with them, there are those on the opposite side who will fight for the right to keep that perspective. We can’t let it go to waste. 

The conversation will always continue. It’ll evolve into argument and disdain, but it will also be thoughtful, provocative and maybe every once in a while, a change of heart of perspective.

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