Credit Where Credit is Due? (October 13, 2006)

I am always a bit amazed at how much credit Westerners get for coming to third world countries. I hear so many people talk about how brave someone is, or how adventurous, etc., for stepping into the "developing" world.

How many times have you thanked a third world migrant for coming to the U.S. or another industrialized world power?

And why should we get credit for issues that are, in many ways, byproducts of the policies and regimes we tacitly or actively support? What does it mean to hold a privileged position (e.g. "American") in the world in the context of everyone around you? How does the language of adventure reinforce the norms by which colonizers and explorers have been travelling across the world forever?

This is not of course supposed to be some angry rant on why people should not go abroad or engage in critical work - I think they should. That said, I think it's interesting to reflect on where we stand when we define what's hard, what's easy, etc.

Also, is it just me, or are many more of my friends abroad than ever before? I know there's some selection bias in this, but it's also a bit weird. Is it a larger trend, or a phase?