OHCHS sophomores interviewed Angus King on May 13 about the differences of globalism and nationalism in politics and the economy. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
PARIS — Earlier this month Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School sophomores welcomed special guests U.S. Sen. Angus King and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden to their class, providing perspective for their study unit on globalism vs. nationalism.
The unit is being co-taught by OHCHS English teacher Brewster Burns and Social Studies teacher Peter Toohy. Students started working on the project at the end of March, studying how large corporations have to balance global concerns with national interests and job creation with outsourcing, as well as the environment, resources and the use of armed forces to protect American business interests abroad.
In addition to King and Golden, the classes also interviewed international financier Matt Rodrigue, who directed plans for Puerto Rico’s emergence from bankruptcy; Michael Moore who directed Roger & Me, the documentary detailing General Motors manufacturing withdrawal from Flint, Michigan and elimination of an estimated 30,000 American job; and Lt. Col. Dan Kearny, who like Golden served in Afghanistan following 9/11. The teachers also reached out to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a politician who strongly opposes globalism, but the senator never responded.
The class also studied Tim O’Brien’s book The Things They Carried, a poignant memoir combining the experiences of young men drafted to serve in Vietnam and the personal sacrifice and suffering as they fought to preserve democracy a world away from home.
OHCHS students talk about what they learned in the recent English/Social Studies unit focusing on globalism and nationalism. From left, Bohden Stetson, Silas Timm and Annabelle Steeves. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
Students Bohden Stetson, Silas Timm and Annabelle Steeves gathered to share their thoughts and lessons learned over the course of the unit, which will be completed this month.
The students were asked about what they studied and learned after listening and reading different viewpoints about globalism and nationalism, which included first-hand accounts from veterans who have served in conflicts to protect American interests.
“It gave us the sense of how hard it was for troops to go through it and their post traumatic stress disorder and all the problems that come with joining the military,” said Stetson. “I wouldn’t want people to go through [a war like] that unless it was absolutely needed.
“On thing that Jared Golden said, there needs to be criteria for going out like that, like if America was in danger or we needed some certain resource that American couldn’t provide us with.”
The students also learned about what corporations must consider when deciding what is best for their business.
“GM expanding [leaving Flint] was smart because they profited from it, but they ruined the lives of many citizens,” said Timm. “It was the right thing to do because it kept the company from going under, but it was also wrong for employees.
“But [moving jobs overseas] opened up opportunities for people in other countries to get jobs and move themselves out of poverty, which is a consideration and benefit.”
“I came down more globalist, with a few things [exceptions],” said Steeves. “Like we shouldn’t use the military to watch the supply chain abroad. I think they should be used for war and not necessarily…acting like security for American corporations, unless there’s a real problem and they’re needed.”
During his interview, Sen. King advised students that one way to protect American supply chains is by bringing jobs home.
“We need to learn to be more economically self reliant,” King said, using technology as an example. “Semi conductors are crucial to almost every product you buy. Sixty percent of the world’s semi-conductors come from Taiwan. If China takes over Taiwan we’d be in real trouble.
“People are starting to realize that and the government is looking at a bill to support the semi-conductor industry and bring its manufacturing back home. It’s a critical part of the supply chain. The world is an unstable place. We shouldn’t stop trading with other countries but we do need to understand when we create a dependency on them that could cripple us in some way.”
The senator referred to a recent report about thousands of trucks stuck in Ohio that cannot be sold because the semi-conductors necessary for them to run are unavailable and talked about the threat of cyber-attacks on America like the recent one that shut down a major fuel pipeline.
“In a mutually dependent world, we cannot isolate ourselves,” King said. “But we also have to be smart, particularly about critical areas of the economy, to protect it from being cut off. Whether it’s a war in another country, or a storm or something. It’s something we have to think more carefully about than we did 20 years ago, when if it could be made more cheaply in China, then we did it.”
Sen. King also brought the government’s role with balancing capitalism into his discussion with students as well.
“Traditionally, capitalism has been about making money and shareholder value has been the guide. But that doesn’t measure things like pollution and working conditions,” he said. “So in America we have capitalism with rules.
“If you want to see what capitalism looks like without rules, google pictures of shoe factories in Maine around 1910. You’ll see kids working, people working long hours. There were a lot of injuries to workers and older people who could no longer work died in poverty.”
King told the students about the role government has played in capitalism to protect workers, like child labor laws, minimum wage and work hours laws, social security for seniors and Medicare. He also explained how the government has helped protect the environment.
“To profit, you got rid of waste the cheapest way and a hundred years ago that meant dumping it in the river,” he said. “The Androscoggin River was one of the dirtiest rivers in the country from the paper and textile mills. Corporations have a broader responsibility to their communities, their workers, and customers.”
The three students agreed that before studying globalism vs. nationalism they had not thought much about the issues but their understanding coming out of it is much better.
Rep. Golden told them he joined U.S. Marines after the 9/11 attacks to help protect America from future terrorism. Golden joined the Marines with the intent of serving in Afghanistan. But, as Stetson recalled, Golden felt that 10 years after killing Osama bin Laden America should no longer be in Afghanistan.
“He struggled with PTSD but was able to overcome it and use it as strength,” Stetson said. “He continued with public service to help make the lives of veterans better. I think he had a more nationalist view from the perspective of a soldier, but he said that people need to have open views, hear everyone’s opinions and think about all sides before making a decision.”
“What I learned about globalism vs. nationalism, it wasn’t as much as choosing sides, but seeing the pro’s and con’s of both because all of one or the other view is not as good as balancing them,” said Timms.
“It opened my view to what companies do to better their profits,” said Steeves. “It made me think about how they make those decisions. Writing about it after helped me weigh the pro’s and con’s to situations such as this.”
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