Reflections

By Martha Selph 01/20/2020

As we leave Iowa, I sit here on the airplane and reflect on our trip through the lens of the Global Engagement Learning Goals.

Critically evaluate one’s own culture and biases.

Examine your responsibilities as an active global citizen informed by multiple perspectives.

I feel as though this was one of the easiest to goals to achieve because Iowa is vastly different from my home in Atlanta, as well as my life at Elon. Although we did not leave the country, I feel as though Iowa allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and my biases and see a different culture and a different speed of life. One specific example of this is when we went to the numerous rallies and town halls and person after person stood up and shared their stories with a room full of strangers. Our healthcare system is leaving so many people in debt and people going untreated because they cannot afford the medical bills.

 Although I have been fortunate that I nor any of my immediate family members have been burdened with a serious illness, I know that this is not a reality for a lot of people. Just because health care is not something I am immediately worried about, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about it or be an informed voter on this issue. Same with criminal justice reform, immigration, and universal child care. It is my responsibility as an active global citizen to stay informed on all the issues, including the ones that don’t immediately affect me or seem as important to me.  

This class has strengthened my love and passion for politics and forced me to think more critically about what matters to me most in a candidate and what they are fighting for. This experience has opened my ears to hear plans from candidates I would have never given a second listen to, like Andrew Yang. His fresh, creative plans for the United States, such as raising the President’s salary to $4 million, is unlike anything I have ever heard before. His plans to put a twelve-year term limit on Congressmen and women and to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices sounds farfetched but in hindsight, makes some sense.

The only thing I would change about our experience is the lack of Republican candidates we were able to see. Although I expected this coming in, and I have been and always will be a loyal Democrat, it would have been interesting to see what the other side sees. Overall though, this trip was everything I hoped it be and more. The opportunity to talk to residents of Iowa, meet some of the top journalists and reporters in the world like Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper, get to shake hands with the top candidates in the race to the White House and see them all debate on stage, and knock on doors in the freezing cold for the candidate I support, was such an incredible, eye opening experience. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to go on this trip and although we did not leave the country, I feel as though I have become a more informed, active global citizen.