What is it Good for?

After what appeared to be a quite successful and stimulating GMM, I've been consumed with insurmountable thought processes on the vitality of Salaam. And I'm not necessarily referring to the more rhetorically inclined notion of erasing the overt subconcious hostilities that exist between the two cultures. Rather, I've been reflecting on Salaam's ability to empower.

Now, this may seem obvious. But we usually think of AIESEC--particularly the traineeship focus--as changing perspectives, beliefs, assumptions; meeting and befriending individuals; bridging distant cultures; developing global leaders. But at the root of all that lies the fundamental promise, which will be fufilled even if all the other abovefore mentioned are not: empowering the individual.

This is so important, because in presenting Salaam, I remember the almost hysterical emotions that washed over me on the morning of 9/11--waves that I believe consumed most of the people of my generation. As I went home for lunch on that day, my eyes glued to the television, an undeniable and gut-wretching feeling of absolute powerlessness inspired an overflow of tears. Sure I wept for the victims, for the families, for mankind and the lengths to which we hate. But the tears of sadness became tears of frustration. I began crying for myself--something needed to be done, but as a young, naive high school junior I lacked the tools to do anything.

I never would have expected that four years later, as a still young, naive, college junior, I would already possess the tools to finally erase what I felt on that morning. With the much-anticipated opportunity looming on the horizion, I realize that Salaam offers a direct chance to "do something" more than anything else. Much more than disconnected diplmats meeting at a summit in a far off mansion. Much more than heads of state conferring at the White House. Salaam offers as much a tangible and relevant road as being the future President of the United States. This is the chance to interact with the common individuals of society, in its purest and most uncensored forms. To speak with those who the world tells us are our "enemies." I remember Mix recalling the manifestation of the perceptions of a young Egyptian boy, and the corresponding thought: who's telling this ten year old boy these things? Well, who do we think is going to be responsible for stopping the youth of our nations from growing up and believing these things? Presidents and prime ministers, or common citizens? Who truly possesses the capacity to change minds--and who ever has?

Regardless, the hypothetical results are secondary. But the ability to empower yourself--and encourage others to do the same--is all you can ask. And that mentality--that provocation--spawns the snippets of definance that culminate to resonate real change. These are the things that revolutions are made of. Soon we will roam a planet where people stop taking another's word for it.

I've always wanted to serve an as ambassador for my country. Yet I always thought of it as a far-off goal: Peace Corps in four years, foreign service in eight, political office in twelve, global leader in twenty. Why not now? Who is set to inherit the world from the current decisions (and the corresponding mistakes) made by today's leaders? We convince ourselves that we have the power, that we have the mechanisms, and we take the chance to shed the layers of helplessness that past events have instilled in us. We try to conceptualize it for our own good, if for nothing else. In the words of Martin Luther King, "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."

It's not about trying to convince those who do not want to know that they should go. It's about showing those who do want to know that they can go. Empowerment is inspirational, empowerment is contagious, empowerment is the basis for progress. That's all you can promise but, really, that's all you need.