An Immigrant’s View of Our Current Mess

A chance encounter and the wisdom of a fresh perspective

Sometimes the new guy has a different and valuable perspective that others don’t see. This is true whether it is a new hire at a company, an outside consultant called in to assess a company’s cyber-security procedures, or a new immigrant to the United States looking at our political landscape. This is the story of one such assessment.

One of my best friends in the world is a loyal Democrat with whom I have agreed on very few things political. Over the years we have had many spirited debates. Although we sometimes may get irritated with one another, we get over it and have remained fast friends.

He was attending a young relative’s graduation from High Point University in North Carolina. My friend was very impressed with HPU. He said that from everything he had seen, it provided a great education, encouraged respectful dialog, and taught the ideals of and “duty, honor, country.”

At his hotel, my friend had a chance encounter with a young man who was a graduating senior. He majored in accounting and wants to get into business. As they chatted, my friend learned that the young student had immigrated here from a foreign country. He is, in short, the kind of immigrant who can contribute to this country.

My friend asked this graduating student if he had enjoyed his experience at HPU. He was not prepared for the response he got.

The young man had lived in several other countries but had always dreamed about living in a country that was free and where open political dialogue was welcomed. Like many of us, he has always thought of this Country as the Shining City on the Hill that President Reagan described. He wanted to be part of that.

High Point University had lived up to his dreams and expectations. He came to America hoping that he would find something like what he had dreamed of.