The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
00:47:57 · Fareed Zakaria
[00:47:57] S4: I think for me, as probably for many immigrants, this is all heartbreaking because the reason we came to America, the reason we left behind, you know, people forget immigrants, yeah, it's a happy story of coming to America and the great adventure of America, which I massively have benefited from and enjoyed. But you're also leaving something behind. You're leaving behind a country, a culture, a family, friends that you love. And the reason we did it was was we believed America was this city on a hill, this extraordinary country, unlike other countries that welcome people in, that had this distinctive role in the world, that was able to really live up to its enlightenment ideas that all men are created equal. You know, so there's a certain amount of maybe excessive belief in that that I think we all have and that I certainly have and I believe is still largely justified. But to see this side of America, you know, the nastiness, the the crudeness, the the the decimation of USAID, for example, I was always very proud that The United States was the richest country in the history of the world, but it's also the most generous country in the history of the world. We invented foreign aid. Foreign aid as a thing didn't exist. The idea that the rich countries of the world had some moral obligation to the poorest countries in the world is an American idea. It actually begins after World War I with Herbert Hoover administering the largest aid relief program. And then after 'forty five, we almost make it one of those norms and it becomes, you know, part of the whole industry. And has there been abuse? Sure. But has it also lifted huge numbers of people out of both poverty and just ill health? Undoubtedly, yes. And there's overwhelming evidence for that. And the idea that we would not only do it, but we do it so callously, or the way in which people now routinely talk about immigrants, talk about Hispanics, talk about Indians, talk about Muslims, all of this has become much more crude, sort of upfront. People almost gloat in their ability. It's, you know, apparently this is now the new sort of, you know, we're not gonna be BC, so we're all gonna be openly racist. And you see that in so many places, and it's very sad because it's definitely not the America I came to in 1982.
00:50:34 · Fareed Zakaria
I came to Ronald Reagan's America, a conservative Republican, but a conservative Republican who deeply believed in America's special mission, in America as the place that welcomed people from all over the world. The last speech Reagan made was all about how you can come from anywhere in the world and you can be an American. And now we have the vice president of The United States saying, no. No. No. If you came, you know, if you came a generation ago, you're not as American as my family that came eight generations ago. So all of it, yeah, very, very disheartening. I wouldn't say... I wouldn't go so far as to say disillusioning because I still have so much faith in America. I still think this is a passing phase. I still think most Americans don't feel this way. I think there's a lot of anger and confusion and hurt. And it's easy to... When when in those circumstances to get people to blame somebody else and and things like that. So I I think it I think it comes back. I know it comes back. It's... I mean, it's one of the reasons I've never even remotely contemplated leaving. You know, people will say, oh, if Trump gets elected or reelected or something happens, I'm gonna I'm gonna go to Canada. I've never had that feeling at all. I mean, I feel like I made my decision, this is my country, I will try to work for it to be a better place, but, know, in the worst case scenario, I'm going down with the ship.
00:52:11 · Scott Galloway, Fareed Zakaria
[00:52:11] S3: I know it comes back. This is my country. Fareed Zakaria is a journalist, author, and political commentator. He hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN and is a columnist for The Washington Post. Big day, Fareed. Thank you for taking time on such an important important day when I know the demands on your time are pretty exceptional... Are exceptional. Thanks so much, brother. [00:52:33] S4: Always a pleasure, Scott. Thank you. [00:52:40] S3: This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez, Laura Janier, and Asher Schwartz. Our video editor is Bianca Rosario Ramirez. Cami Riek is our social producer. Drew Burrows is our technical director and Catherine Dillon is our executive producer. Thanks for listening to the Prof G Pod from Prof G Media.