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Welllllllllll, yes and no.

I know the feelings shared by the author even though I haven't been back in 15 years.

China felt a LOT safer to me. Of course petty theivery and other things along with rampant corruption were and probably are enormous problems.

However, being lofty guest teachers in an out of the way city . . . everyone in town virtually--that saw foreigners at all--knew who I was or at least where I belonged. I tried to be in the guard-watched gate by 23:00 every night so I wouldn't bother the guard. Besides, I didn't care to incur his wrath nor worry the security bureau that I was up to something they wouldn't like.

But I felt very safe at any hour of the day or night. . . until Tienanmen. . . when friends said they were concerned that some foreigner might be killed as the gov was stirring up anti-American feelings and my friends didn't want some joker trying to get a promotion to do me in.

Even then, a number of incredibly loving and sacrificial people would have died to protect me. I have no doubt of that. Of course, I'd demonstrated over 2 years all the love I could in as many ways as I could. Still, I haven't found Americans THAT loving or sacrificial to someone they'd known such a relatively short time. Many of these people had been through the Cultural Revolution and knew the costs of being on the wrong side of political winds.

I'm glad the U.S. is culturally diverse. But there's a stiff price to pay when that also includes a wide diversity on what is BASICALLY RIGHT AND WRONG. And when BILLDO AND SHRILLERY'S farce for values is acted out by anyone with means and anger enough--there is and will be "hell to pay."

At some point evidently not too distant, all the Billdo's and Shrillery's will pay dearly. The rest of us will to if we haven't already cashed in our personalized chits offered at The Cross.

Having worked and studied at length overseas and visiting nearly 48 countries I can say I take maybe 60% of what the writer wrote. The other % I cannot take seemed to be a whiny, strident liberal Democrat talking. It is odd, though. I come at it from a conservative position, and she would come at it from a liberal perspective. Similiar sentiments in some areas.

But contrary to her, perhaps, I credit the decay and problems precisely to her school of thought, liberalism.

It was interesting to leave the USA "bubble" for some time (a year or two does it), to return with a fresh perspective and you start to see things you did not understand or appreciate about America that were right under your nose.

I think one of my friends expressed it best: you become so much more appreciative of the GOOD things about America that you missed, and you become some much more virulent in disgust about the BAD things about America that you did not have to put up with during your stint overseas and which jump out at you in contrast upon your return. It kind of sharpens your emotions on both ends of the sword I 'spose. You CANNOT get this from a two week or one month trip culturally isolated in a Hilton (nor, never going off base into the local areas if on a military or diplomatic post overseas)!!

I would however have an unfathomable time ever sticking up for the Govt. of Red China on anything, but I can imagine sticking up for the Chinese who are an incredibly great people, whether they are in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China or San Francisco.