I’m an internationalist at heart. Instead of closing ourselves off to other countries and people around the world, in my world view, we’re all better off if we build bridges and friendships with others across the planet. Some of that comes from the recognition — brought into stark perspective by photographs of the Earth from space — that we’re all one species on a tiny speck of rock spinning around in the larger universe.
Over the past few months, I’ve been saddened by the breakdown in international relations thanks to the current US government. We’ve seen traditional allies denigrated and disrespected, crass bullying and even what seems like extortion of other countries, as well as the detention of international travelers by immigration and customs enforcement officials who have often been reported as having done so in an unnecessarily cruel and provocative manner. It’s as if the stereotype of the Ugly American has been fully unveiled and exalted.
These events have undermined much of the goodwill felt towards the USA and Americans. We see this in the growing number of countries issuing travel warnings to their citizens, large numbers of scientists choosing to leave the USA and conduct their research at universities abroad, and significant declines in international tourism. We even have residents of other countries actively boycotting US goods and cancellation of international conferences that were planned for the USA. In another disturbing turn, we see companies cancelling non-essential business travel to the USA. A growing number of international companies, when travel to the USA is unavoidable, are enacting security protocols typically reserved for travel to authoritarian countries — equipping employees only with burner phones and stripped-down laptops containing minimal data.
This weekend I am in Birmingham, Alabama. What does this have to do with international relations and friendship? After spending the better part of two days in a hotel conference room, I went for a long, much-needed walk on the trails throughout a nearby botanical garden. Along a trail through the woods, I ran across a small pavilion containing a large bronze Japanese bell.
A monument near the bell stated it was the “Friendship Bell of Celebration”, dedicated in 2005 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens by the Rotary Club to commemorate friendship and cooperation between the citizens of Osaka, Taipei, and Birmingham. Seeing this bell generated feelings of nostalgia for a better time when the USA was more open to building positive relationships around the world, as well as sadness for what we’ve lost over the past months.
On the other hand, it also gave me hope, by reminding me that friendship and good will is built one step at a time. The Friendship Bell of Celebration is a good symbol of what is possible and a reminder that each of us can play a part in developing positive relationships across international boundaries. We need those relationships. Humans have much to learn from each other, and cooperation is crucial for us to survive and thrive as a species.
I didn’t plan on finding this on a trail through the woods in Alabama, but it shows we can find meaning in unexpected places.