Today, I had the pleasure of having an extended conversation with a Pakistani woman who shared her observations and experiences with me. To call this fascinating would be an understatement. As a little background, she came to this country about 4 years ago to study. She is now about to graduate from UMKC with an MBA. Healthcare is her specialty.
Before coming to America, all she knew of this country was what she read through the Pakistani media. Their media does not paint a flattering picture of America or Americans. Her actual experiences here are far different than what is portrayed in Pakistan. I told her that if all you knew about America and Americans is what you read in the American media, you would think that conservatives are mean, hateful people or that liberals are mean, hateful people, depending on the biases of the writer. She came here expecting the worst.
She started off with her observations about our healthcare system. The concept of health insurance is totally foreign to her. I do not think she completely grasped the concept. In Pakistan, there are two levels of care, the public and the private. Under the public system, run by the government, the standard of care is very low, and the conditions are horrid. She said it was common to see 2 or 3 people receiving care to share a bed, and the care is substandard. Under the private system, if you have money, you can get a higher standard of care, your own private bed, access to specialists, etc… But there is no insurance of any kind. To get the private care, you dish out lots of cash. And she said it was very expensive. Her conclusion was that in spite of our system’s shortcomings, it is far superior to the healthcare system in her country.
But what most impressed her about America was its constant, stable supply of electricity. Amazing, isn’t it? We take electricity for granted and we about lose our minds if a lightning strike takes it out. We complain loudly if it is not back up in a timely fashion. Yet in her homeland, the electricity goes out for several hours each day. You just come to expect it over there. It makes it very uncomfortable in the summer when it gets unbearably hot and the A/C gets shut down.
What most got to me though was her experience with average Americans. She said that the Americans that she has run across in her daily experience have been so kind, caring and welcoming. It all started for her as she was preparing to come to America and the people at UMKC were so helpful to her in assisting her with her visa. Her day-to-day encounters with average Americans have really left a positive impression on her. She is eager to go back to Pakistan and tell her people that what the media there says about America and Americans is so wrong. Stuff like this reaffirms my belief in America. This is one of those things that makes America great. And it reaffirms my faith in a basic goodness in people.
There are plenty of things in our culture that are screwed up. But there is a lot that is right with America and Americans. Both of us agreed on this point. We are great. We have room to become greater. I thank this young woman who stretched me a bit, enlightened me a great deal in 20 minutes and helped me to grow a bit.
