Summary
Analysis
In 1952, after publishing a series of articles on Father Finian’s work, Burmese reporter Ruth Jyoti accepts an invitation to spend three months in America and learn about American press. Her first stop is in Hawaii, where she notes that the Immigration and Customs officers are “cold almost to the point of insult,” and the waiting room is drab. She notes that every town and village in China has a guest house, always the best accommodation that the place can offer, which makes for “very effective propaganda.”
Jyoti’s observations on American Immigration and Customs workers suggests that American indifference toward foreigners damages its international reputation. This contrasts with China’s efforts to always make foreign visitors feel valued and honored, which ultimately endears people to China, rather than the United States.
In San Francisco, Jyoti meets Joseph Rivers, a member of the State Department. Rivers asks Jyoti if she knows Joe Bing, who works in Setkya, where she publishes her paper. At first she doesn’t recall him, but Rivers tells her that Bing is a large, loud, eccentric American whom everyone loves. Jyoti does remember him, but observes that Bing seems exceptionally boorish to Asian sensibilities. He throws big parties but only serves liquor, so Muslims and Buddhists cannot attend since there is nothing for them to drink and still observe their religions. Rivers is disturbed that Jyoti could criticize Joe Bing, and thinks that any friend of America must automatically love “Old Joe.” Jyoti mentions that Father Finian mentioned Joe Bing once too; when he asked Bing for commissary pens to give as gifts to his anti-Communist friends, Bing refused.
As a Southeast Asian woman, Jyoti’s perception of Joe Bing sharply contrasts with River’s perception of him as a fellow American man. This contrast suggests that behavior that may seem appropriate in one culture may be entirely inappropriate in another culture. As such, American diplomats cannot simply assume that their behavior in another culture is adequate, since it seems appropriate by American standards. Bing’s cultural insensitivity excludes Muslims and Buddhists from him social events, demonstrating how such insensitivity be deeply offensive.
At a press dinner two days later, the Americans ask Jyoti to speak about American diplomats working in Asia. She frankly tells them that most Americans in Asia are completely ineffective. They spend their time trying to earn the goodwill of the wealthiest English-speaking Asians who do not represent the majority lower-class population.
Jyoti’s claim recalls Sears’s behavior, where he spends more energy worrying about his ego and perception than about acting professionally or accomplishing anything as an American ambassador.
However, Jyoti states that an American named Bob Maile is extraordinarily effective. Maile lives quietly in Burma and spent his first six months there learning the language and befriending Burmese reporters and photographers, teaching them trade skills in return for language tutoring. He and his wife, Dorothy, put their kids in an Asian school, even though it is not as nice as the schools in America. He lives and works humbly. Even so, word spreads that Bob Maile is an excellent man, the “best known American” in Burma. Jyoti thinks that if all Americans were like him, “the Communists wouldn’t last long in Asia.”
As with Krupitzyn and Finian, Bob Maile’s decision to learn the local language demonstrates his professionalism and commitment to building relationships with Burmese people. He and his wife’s decision to live simply and educate their children like any other Burmese family would indicates that they see themselves as equal to, rather than superior to, their Burmese neighbors. Jyoti’s final statement suggests that good, humble people like Bob Maile could go far in raising America’s reputation and combating Communist influence over Asia.
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