Term 3 Week 4 Blog Post

In this article, Jim Rogers raises a few highly critical but accurate points on America’s decreasing number of connections in our rapidly globalising world, and touches on the importance of raising “global kids”, the next generation of youths who are able to bridge the gap between the east and the west. His perspective is undeniably true, and as much as we may not like it, those are the undisputable facts. As we all know, the future lies in Asia now. America has amassed a tremendous debt of $14.46 trillion, far worse than that of 2006, and its debt ceiling is ever rising. It has come to a point where its credit status has suffered a downgrade to the AA rating, from the AAA rating. America may be the superpower at the moment but Jim Rogers has much to say about this. America is disregarding the rapid pace of globalisation, during which the veil between “economies and business; of politics and conflict; of fashion, technology, and music” becomes less and less discernible, which is a great threat to America’s prosperity. If America continues along its current path, blinded by its current might and status as a world superpower, militarily and economically, it risks being isolated from the rest of the world.With the current rate of globalisation, the prosperity of any nation can no longer solely be dependent on bilateral ties with other nations. This fact of life is embodied in the current poor state America is in, which serves to further prove this. What America really needs now is a revolution, and that means nurturing a generation of “global citizens”, who are able to become the link between the vastly different western and eastern influences and cultures. As it lies on the crossroad of east and west, Singapore has always placed major emphasis on bilingualism. In this aspect, Singapore is well established and has a great head start that makes her well placed to succeed in the future of the globalised world. Over the years, besides English as the common language between all races, the teaching of the mother tongue has also rooted itself deep in the foundation of Singaporean education, setting the catalyst for our nation’s rapid progress as the regional, or even worldwide hub of quality education and healthcare services. It may be advisable that America follow a similar approach to education, not just through the teaching of useful foreign languages, but long-term immersions of its youths in other cultures, slowly but surely instilling a global perspective.On the other hand, some may argue that English will continue to remain as the global business language and that America will, as has been the status quo for a long time, still be the main driving force behind globalisation such that replacing the English language with another would be neither practical nor wise. However, we cannot deny the fact that one still needs to be immersed in the Asian culture and language and have a good understanding of it, since the multitude of rapidly industrialising and developing Asian countries will in time end up as the main contributors to rapid globalisation. Certainly, it would be for the best if one was well-equipped with a proficieny in both languages, since it would definitely pay off as one would then be capable of bridging the western and eastern influences, the mainstay of the globalised economy of the future.To sum things up, Jim Rogers’ viewpoint about America’s lack of interaction and immersion with the rest of the world is actuated and not without backing , addressing the many concerns of the rapidly globalising world of today. It is hence clear that being capable of bilingualism and the understanding of both eastern and western cultures and practices would bring about innumerable benefits to all developed countries, including America.