Thoughts from the Sahel

North America is, by most measures, the wealthiest continent on this planet. 

Indeed, for the average North American (and I say North American to include most of the industrialized US, Mexico and Canada), the quality of life has reached levels that would have been unimaginable through most of human history. This is especially acute when compared to other regions on the planet, even when including high wealth regions such as Western Europe or Australasia. North Americans enjoy extremely high levels of income, household wealth, consumption, private space, energy use, and access to goods and services. 

This is not to say that life in North America is without challenges, nor that there do not exist serious disparities in quality of life and systemic inequality between social strata. All of these challenges exist/persist, and in some ways inequality can be worse on our continent than in other wealthy regions. Yet time and time again, North American life is marked by a consistent abundance. I write this not as an exposé on the many challenges faced on our continent, nor to insert myself into any sort of political discussion. Instead, I am writing to share an observation I have developed over years of time spent abroad.

The United States is unique culturally in its position as being the largest driver of global economy and culture: from Hollywood and Wall Street to social media and political trends, it is undeniable that the US (and its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere by proxy) carry a profound influence, even in countries where the trend is one that is negatively aligned with ourselves. Somebody in Western Europe or the Gulf States may not need to have any solid interest in US consumer or political culture for it to find them in their fashion, their cinema, or their system of governance (on all levels of the spectrum). Even our most steadfast adversaries (to include certain world leaders), will find themselves consuming second-degree impacts of American culture and developments.

North Americans (the USA in particular) enjoy a role in the "driver's seat" of the world's economy and trends, yet are often blissfully unaware of it. Indeed, even those that are aware of it tend to view such a role imperfectly. It exists, and for better or worse, will likely continue to do so through the future. An American need not ever leave their country to have the world delivered to their plate, doorstep, and iPhone - and the rest of the world is very much aware of this.

I have had the immense privilege of spending a significant portion of my life outside of North America - with secondary and post-secondary schooling in Western Europe, and significant travels across Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australia. While much of this has indeed been as a traveller on the back of a moped, a train, a "combie" or even a riverboat, I have always sought to insert myself just beyond the surface. The experiences I've shared with others my age around the world have opened my eyes to perspectives that just are not possible to understand in any written format, and most certainly do not align with any contemporary political binary.

Most recently, I have returned from spending some brief time alone in the Sahel, in Senegal, where I mainly travelled the Dakar region. In my years volunteering along the border in Southern Arizona, I met hundreds of young men from this transitional region of Africa - across the Sahel from Mauritania and Guinea to Chad and Sudan. For a young man from Arizona, it was eye-opening to see how the Sonoran desert I had known my whole life (such as Organ Pipe National Monument) quickly became a staging ground for one of the world's largest humanitarian crises in 2023 and 2024. The world arrived at our doorsteps. It took flights from Dakar and Nouakchott to Istanbul, then to Bogota and Nicaragua, before walking north on foot through Mexico.

I never shook the curiosity for the region of the world that I met so many people from, including some of whom I hosted in my own home in Tucson, and found myself obliged to close this loop. What I found in Senegal (as well as in travels to Cambodia, Vietnam, and even Colombia) surprised me: where Americans are scarce, Chinese, Russian and other interests quickly filled the gaps. Gas stations in the rural Sahel owned and operated by what appeared to be Chinese commercial interests, banks in Vietnam catering to Russian expats, the list goes on. A globalized economy waits for no one.

It was from the combination of my travels and experiences along the Arizona border that my fundamental thesis emerged: America's era of geographic isolation has ended - a transatlantic flight now costs $700, online algorithms and AI will tell you exactly what you need to do to get anywhere and do anything in the world, and thus the world will find us at our doorsteps whether all of us are interested in it or not. Technology and artificial intelligence are bridging global gaps, rapidly. Indeed, meeting this world (beyond geopolitical strategy) is increasingly important to achieving depth and sustainability in any level of business or governance. 

Drop a pin almost anywhere on the planet, and you can likely find a way to arrive in less than 24 hours and for $1000. Feigned geographic ignorance is no longer a winning take. 

So my primary perspective that I feel the urge to share is a global one. Not an abandonment of national culture, nor a naive embrace of globalization, rather a kind suggestion geared towards the average professional in North America: the world is out there. Beyond the familiar world of Western Europe and North America, it ebbs and flows and will impact you directly in ways you may not know yet. No matter where you land culturally, politically, or socially, it will probably think in ways unfamiliar to you.

Understanding that world is no longer simply an intellectual luxury. It is increasingly a practical necessity. The businesses we build, the governments we operate, the communities we serve, and the decisions we make will increasingly be shaped by people, economies, cultures, and events that exist far beyond our immediate surroundings. Our lives may remain local, but geographic isolation increasingly does not. 

Stay informed, stay curious, and shed your biases.