The global generation

Early last week I packed my bags and hopped on a plane to fly across continents to arrive here in the United State to pursue a Masters in Law. Leaving Pakistan is always a funny feeling. It was not really a good bye but more of a ‘see you soon’ to Pakistan. A day after landing in Boston and moving into my apartment in Cambridge, I flew to Fort Smith, Arkansas, for an American friend’s wedding. It is my first time in the American South and so far everything about it is warm, ranging from the weather to the hospitality that I have experienced.
Arkansas has a lazy charm about it. The people are friendly and curious. And they remind me constantly of why I have admired the American way of life for so long. I have often been labeled as too ‘pro-America’, ‘brain-washed’ and ‘impressionable’ whenever I have displayed my affection for America and its people, whether in public or private. But I hold a deep seated honest belief that Americans are the friendliest people anywhere in the world.
Not just that, I have always felt affection for Americans because they remind me so much of Pakistan. Many might raise eye-brows when I say this. But most Americans, just like most Pakistanis, deeply value family and religion, they talk loudly without bothering too much about who may hear them, their sense of humour is very direct and they love their food especially meat. They are passionate about their politics and that politics is often divisive but that adds to the passion with which people pursue what they believe in. They are openly emotional and idealistic about their country just like many Pakistanis. Americans have an endearing way of making people feel at home. No other country in the world that I have had the chance of visiting has had so many people greet me with ‘welcome to our country!’ in such a warm and effusive manner.
I have also long maintained that the most unique thing about America is its openness to its own faults and its own critique of its own policies. The most pertinent and challenging criticism of America always arises from within America. Whether its America’s history or present, the most candid debates have always originated in American classrooms and American courtrooms have settled some of the most controversial issues while confronting deeply troubling questions.
Another thing that has become increasingly clear to me in recent times is the creation of a globalised community throughout the world who probably have more in common with each other, across religious and cultural divides, than with people living within their own countries. Of course many stark differences remain owing to the different levels of development at which many countries are.
I was taken by my gracious hosts in Fort Smith to a museum which included, among other things, the courthouse of one Judge Parker who in the mid to late 19th century sentenced dozens of people to death by hanging. As people around me made clear their surprise at death by hanging and the cruelty of it, I shrugged my shoulders and explained that this is still how Pakistan (along with many other countries) metes out capital punishment. The moment was funny and both poignant. It made me think whether there is a humane way of meting out capital punishment. Of course this question has been agitated before many courts in the world already and there is evidence to suggest that certain methods of implementing capital punishment are more cruel than others. But this question is unlikely to gain any currency in Pakistan any time soon where not only is there overwhelming support for capital punishment but also because of the brutalisation of society not many would pay heed to the suffering of those on death row — including the manner of execution.
But by far the most heartening thing on this trip have been moments which have reiterated my fundamental belief that people everywhere are the same and they worry about the same things — education for their children, healthcare in old age, the prices of everyday commodities and the happiness of their children. Of course not everyone will agree with this and many will harp on cultural and religious differences to always try and make us believe that humans in one part of the world are somehow fundamentally different from those in other parts.
There is also the danger that because of trans-national terror organisations more and more countries will become inward looking and mistrust among cultures will increase. Right wing parties throughout the world will try to gain ascendancy. But it is up to us, the fortunate children of this globalised world to stop our countries from becoming myopic. We need to exert all efforts to ensure that our people never forget that people of different cultures and religions share the issues confronting them on a daily basis and that their lives are defined by similar struggles as they work to provide better lives for their families.
At home in Pakistan, I worry about how things may turn out in the coming year. But if anyone who is educated and honest and has even an elementary understanding of the benefits of a more inter-connected world, then there is no other option but to strive for a more inter-connected world.

The writer is a Barrister and has a special interest in Anti-trust/Competition law. He can be reached at [email protected]