Confessions of a Failed Expat

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The Netherlands, I discovered, has a remarkably sustainable transportation network. Copenhagen pioneered an innovative program to help senior citizens live at home. Cuba, whatever its shortcomings, has nearly wiped out centuries of vicious racial prejudice. Finnish villagers launched a successful movement to keep rural areas vital. Italian cities are banding together to make sure the traditional pleasures of life survive the modern era.

All of this, and much more of what happens across the globe, goes almost unnoticed in the American media. But don't take my word for it. Flip on the news or scan the newspaper for foreign coverage that is not about wars, natural disasters, diplomatic maneuvers, scandals, or economic indicators. I'll bet you find precious little about the actual life that goes on in other lands -- how people, other than royalty and celebrities, lead their lives.

Most of the editors and producers whose job it is to show us the world assume that no one really cares about life beyond our borders. That's an American tragedy of larger proportions than you might think. Not only do we get a shallow view of our fellow global citizens, which fuels old stereotypes (Africa is a hopeless basket case) and new fallacies (Saddam was behind the 9/11 attacks) but we also miss out on inspiring examples on how to improve things here in the USA.

I came home from Toronto many years ago without a job, but I did bring back an idea that has shaped my career as a writer and editor. Impressed by the city's rich and harmonious ethnic diversity, lively and well-preserved neighborhoods, world-class public transit, and general mood of orderly joyousness, I began trumpeting Toronto, and later Montreal and Vancouver, as places from which Americans could learn a lot about revitalizing our cities. I touted Canada's national health care policies and multicultural sensibilities at a time when these were not major issues in the United States. I tried my best to stay on top of Canadian politics and culture (not an easy task when you rely on American media) and wrote about what was happening north of the border whenever I could convince an editor it was newsworthy (not very often).

Then, I landed at Utne Reader, published in Minneapolis (which Spy magazine once insisted is actually part of Canada). The Utne library was brimming with independent press publications from all over the universe, including Canada, and many of them delighted in reporting news and telling stories from around the world. I saw my chance, and made it my journalistic mission to shine light on bright ideas, bold initiatives, and practical projects from all over the globe that could help us solve problems and create opportunities here at home.

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