A Case For Better EU Relationships
By: Emily Hausheer
Tags: United States, Geopolitics, European Union, World

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Around the world, there are so many cultures, countries, languages, foods, and things to learn. People groups and histories are best understood when you visit other places. However, governments and laws have made it a point to keep people apart- even within friendly countries, such as the United States and the European Union countries. I will stick to these two points to keep this article simple.

What are we afraid of? Can foreigners really “steal our jobs?” Should we have completely open borders and let everybody in? Or should we still have some rules in place?

I hope to divulge my own plan for immigration in a way that will open your eyes to a new way, and a new world.

First, let me start off by saying, Americans want to leave the United States! You may be a little shocked, but the average American millennial wants to leave the United States. I polled people at Liberty University, one of the largest universities in the United States and the overwhelming majority expressed a desire to at least temporarily leave the United States.

No, this does not mean they hate America. This also doesn’t mean they want to permanently leave, although many said they would make it permanent if they really enjoy their country abroad.

The main motivation of these young Americans is an adventure, seeking out a new life, and getting jobs that provide enough pay for a living.

Now putting the economic issue aside for a bit, the United States (as well as every developed country) has a problem where almost everybody has a college degree, but few people can find a job paying a living wage in their field. Consequently, this probably drives up the desire of Americans to emigrate, otherwise they have a Masters Degree and are cleaning tables at McDonald’s (nothing wrong with cleaning tables at McDonald’s, but this is the scenario the average American faces). So teaching English in Finland seems very alluring, however, EU work permits make it very difficult for Americans to immigrate and teach.

It is also interesting to note that the most in-demand countries that young Americans at LU indicated that they dream of immigrating to are; the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Canada, Poland, Switzerland, fa Spain, Italy, Czech Republic. These are all countries with very high regulations on foreigners working.

Note: these countries are “the dream countries” and this does not always mean the country they are emigrating to. Sometimes people immigrate wherever there are job opportunities.

However, EU citizens are facing the exact problems as Americans, and many want to come here and teach Polish, German, and other high demand languages.

Now, just for simplicity sake, I’m going to focus on the US and the EU. Imagine if both dropped work permits, and looked at people solely on their abilities. Are you a native Polish speaker who wants to teach Polish to American students? Polish is becoming an increasingly in high demand, but we have limited teachers in Polish. An American who is fluent in Polish wouldn’t be able to teach to the same as a native speaker. Let them come in! Are you an American who is fluent in German and wants to teach English to German students? Again, let them in!

What are we afraid of?

If anything, it makes us a more interesting society if we have cultural exchanges and open borders. Of course, we should still have visas in place to protect foreign workers.

There have been cases of Ukrainian workers (they aren’t EU citizens so they don’t fall under the same regulations) being poorly treated by Polish and German employers, and due to their lack of knowledge of the Polish or German, they were unable to ask for help. I have also asked my non-American contacts, and many of them also expressed a strong desire for immigration. But the Americans were the strongest in their desire to leave the country.

It has been said immigrants bring in crime. However, not all the time. Actually, most of the time crime comes from people already in the country. The “crime” must be first defined. If an immigrant publishes illegal political pamphlets he is technically a “criminal” but this crime isn’t a true crime, and wouldn’t be considered a crime in the US. For murderers and violent criminals, the punishment should be brought before the law- whether they are citizens or criminals. There is complete equality under the law.

People always say they want Americans to become more aware of other cultures. Allowing immigration is a perfect way to do it. If the EU lessens work restrictions on Americans, we will send our best talents there and share what America has to offer. Likewise, EU citizens can come here and share their talents.

It is sharing, not stealing, and talking with people from other cultures that increase tolerance and opens up people’s eyes to cultures that may be very different from their own. Think of all the misconceptions about Americans that can be cleared if Americans are allowed to work and study visa-free in France and the UK.

Think of all the misconceptions about French and British people that would be cleared if they should study here. Imagine being able to watch a movie from another country, without DVD regions! Many times people can’t play movies from other countries due to DVD regions. Imagine being able to talk with 5 people from 5 different countries and learning about other cultures firsthand. It would be easier for you to learn a foreign language because you get firsthand practice. You can work in any country you please because you are judged on your skills and not on your citizenship (something you can’t really control).

I hope someday this can be extended further to not just allied countries- but to the world. We will see people as citizens of the world, and not people on the other side of the border.