Culture Shock
June 13, 2005
While I have never experienced “negative feelings” about America arising from trips abroad, I have found travel – both within and outside this country – an interesting catalyst for creative thought. There is something about a new environment that is both psychologically and intellectually stimulating.
I have noted one significant distinction between American and foreign countries, however: Americans are treated much more politely and less bureaucratically by foreign customs agents than they are by their American counterparts.
Butler Shaffer was Professor Emeritus at Southwestern University School of Law. He is the author of In Restraint of Trade: The Business Campaign Against Competition, 1918–1938, Calculated Chaos: Institutional Threats to Peace and Human Survival, and Boundaries of Order. His latest book is The Wizards of Ozymandias.

