Fulbrighter view of the USA

Westley Warshawer’s podcast was a twist on a familiar theme: he spoke about the United States rather than some more exotic foreign location. He made many thoughtful points, but I want to focus on a memory his story stirred in me.

I once was tasked with designing a major USAID scholarship program that would bring 10,000 Central Americans to the United States for academic training. In the 1980s, the Kissinger Commission had recommended such an initiative as a way to counter the growing socialist and communist movements in Central America. One hoped that studying in the United States would naturally foster a deeper understanding of the US—and, in turn, win hearts and minds.

As part of my research, I traveled through Central America and met with students who had studied in the United States on government scholarships, most at the master’s or doctoral level. They spoke warmly of the academic opportunities they had received. Yet when I asked about any disappointments, many offered the same response: their impressions of American family life had been disillusioning.

Follow-up questions revealed why. Many had never stayed with an American family or experienced everyday life in an American community. Their studies and life on campus had been their main focus. Their strong impressions of American family life came through Ozzie and Harriet, The Life of Riley, I Love Lucy, comic strips, and other popular portrayals of American life. Their picture of family life had been shaped through the prism of Hollywood and popular entertainment rather than actual experience.

That realization led me to add an “Experience America” component to the scholarship program—not briefings or seminars, but genuine encounters: homestays, visits with families at Thanksgiving or Christmas, attendance at local festivals, parades, and athletic events, etc. The goal was to offer experiences deep and ordinary enough to create impressions beyond the polished world of Hollywood sitcoms.

Westley captures this truth beautifully: our understanding of a place is often assembled from what we have heard, watched, and imagined. But his road trip revealed something much deeper and more compelling—the reality beneath the familiar stories. Despite our differences, Americans share far more than divides us. The country is not coming apart at every seam; it is held together, often quietly, by a common humanity and shared values.

Thank you, Westley, for illuminating that important truth!