Fulbright, dimmed.

T minus 4 days until I depart for Colombia (that's ColOmbia as in South America, not ColUmbia University in New York, to clarify a common misconception).


I will be going as a Fulbright Scholar. 


Official (Wikipedia) definition of the Fulbright Program:  Prestigious merit-based grants to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills.  


Actual definition (from what I have gathered thus far): What the government does with all of the non-vocationally oriented LIberal Arts kids who have received its subsidized education.

With all the funding funneling into lovely private universities and the thousands of taxpayer dollars distributed in Stafford loans every year, the State is manufacturing a small army (no pun intended) of young experts in International Relations, Cross-Cultural Studies, Peace Studies, Diplomacy Sciences, etc.  And at the end of the assembly line, the shiny idealists are prime and ready to go out to the battlefield and relate internationally (in a nonviolent way)!  But how can one do so without being perceived as an aimless globe-trotting vagabond?  With a government seal, of course (normally in the form of a Peace Corps or Fulbright polo shirt).


I, personally, have no problem with being an aimless globe-trotting vagabond.  But if someone is going to front the bill for my flight and housing arrangements in exchange for "community development" and teaching English part time, sign me up.


Many brilliant and earth-changing people proudly bear the Fulbright badge.  I hope to join their ranks.  And no one (except maybe Rush Limbaugh) will deny that this world could use a lot more idea sharing between different kinds of people in a non-militant, non-imperialist way.  And for that (and the free trip), I love Fulbright.  I believe in the mission statement.  I believe in the objectives.


What I don't believe in is the religious adoration of a program that is not much more than humans meeting other humans.  I don't believe in the self-congratulatory elitism of a name--no matter what the historical affiliation.  I want to see this institution for what it is: an opportunity to see another part of the world, to learn, and to teach.  Not an automatic one-up card or a gold star of specialness.  


The Fine Print: (they asked us to post this on any web postings we publish during the grant period)
This is not an official Department of State website.  The views and information presented are personal and they do not represent the Fulbright Program or the Department of State.