And I think you might be right about the trickle down effect, though it’s such a paradoxical time in terms of Americans becoming more internationally engaged and “politically cosmopolitan:” we’re ripe to much more internationally conscious and globally aware as a whole, especially with Obama leading us; yet as the economy continues to the crapper, I fear we’ll focus only on our internal well-being and continue to say that what’s going on outside our borders doesn’t matter nearly as much as making sure things within our borders are stable. And of course I can understand that sentiment—it’s certainly not unreasonable for all people to want their own country and home to be safe and secure and prosperous—but I just hope Americans realize that it’s okay to think domestically and internationally at the same time, and in fact these days it’s necessary to do so.

” . . . like a recognition of a long lost truth, to Obama’s statements that nations “of relative plenty … can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect”. Obama understands, and Americans are beginning to grasp, the implications of a globalised world. We may be witnessing the birth of a more politically cosmopolitan, internationalist America, not just in the mind of its President, but the consciousness of its people.” (http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/cooperation-can-be-a-powerful-tool-20090123-7onk.html?page=-1)

The term ‘politically cosmopolitan’ perhaps best describes the change of environment in the U.S. from an inward looking to outward looking one, starting with the new administration. Could it be a trickle down effect?