This title reflects the new reality we face in the U.S. since January 20, 2025 [the blog itself was written ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections in Mr. Trump’s last term]. I’m proud of my foresight –fragility and challenge are perfect adjectives for this new political moment and his second term.
As we all now know, everything we’ve experienced since the election was predestined in the campaign. But not the scale. Not the confusion. Not the pain to so many innocent federal workers and their families. Not the unmooring of the lives of thousands of humanitarians whose lives were devoted to helping the poor and fighting for justice in the developing world. Nor to staffs in every corner of the federal bureaucracy…And so here I am today; writing to try to make myself feel better by sharing my perspective with followers of my blog. I haven’t been consistent in writing in this space since Covid hit. I have no idea who will read this post.
For readers familiar with or who are working in the field of international education, I want you to know how much respect I have for your commitment and your pursuit of opening doors to the world for undergrads or high school students. For supporting experiential learning in the form of internships or service-learning; and designing immensely creative spaces for students to grow and challenge themselves.
This not in any way a “normal” time. I never would have imagined to characterize a blog or essay as I have here – to suggest that the work of international educators is being weaponized by this new administration; by leaders in the State Department who have twisted the purpose of education abroad and cultural exchange to assess the worth of programs only by whether or not their goals support the political agenda of the President and his minions. To use international students and our visa system as tools to demonstrate how the government – the President- is following through on his promise to cleanse our society of differences, of diverse voices and color. Students, migrants, immigrants, even naturalized citizens – are all thrown into the same boat whose course is guided by hatred and inhumanity.
Enough said.
