I have traveled to three foreign countries since President Trump was elected. While I have always been proud to be American, even as I criticize much in my country, I was humbled by what people thought of America in the countries I visited. They were puzzled by our health care system, and appalled by our guns and voter apathy.
How does America - at this moment - look to the rest of the world? We are the sole country to reject the Paris Climate Accord, and we don't do anything to curb our gun homicide rates, which are 25 times higher than other nations.
The Pew Center reports respect for America is in decline. Yet, we seem to be the only ones who don't see that.
This hour, we talk to three people, each with a different perspective on America: an American journalist who has lived in Turkey for a decade, a German scholar who recently became an American citizen, and an American-born Muslim whose parents came here from Egypt before he was born.
GUESTS:
- Yascha Mounk - Lecturer on government at Harvard University, host of The Good Fight podcast and the author of the upcoming book, The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is In Danger and How To Save It
- Suzy Hansen - Journalist, editor, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and author of Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World
- Aymann Ismail - Video producer/editor at Slate magazine where he’s been working on a video series, “Who’s Afraid of Aymann Ismail?”
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 16, 2017.