Globalization (!)

I stopped at Staples this morning to purchase ink cartridges for my Epson Printer. Finding the proper cartridges is not always easy, especially for oldsters who can no longer bend down without cracking their joints and whose vision lacks the acuity needed to sort out all the pertinent serial numbers.

So, it was serendipitous that I was met by an alert looking young man who immediately came up to me and cheerfully offered his assistance. He zeroed in quickly on what I needed but he had to make a quick trip elsewhere in inventory to obtain a color cartridge that was missing from the main package. All this was done with an alacrity and efficiency that was most gratifying to behold.

His name is Sumit Tandon and I correctly guessed that he is from India. I thanked him and we talked for several minutes about India’s current burgeoning economy. Indeed, I recalled for him that about 25 years ago, at a seminar conducted by the then popular lecturer, Roger Karas, it was agreed that India, like Bangladesh, was a "basket case" and that it could never possibly recover. So much for academic prescience! But who could have foretold that the vibrant economy that sweeps the world today is largely because of America’s initiative and support for globalization?

In any case, before I checked out, I looked for someone to whom I could explain how I had just been so helpfully assisted. When I found an employee who looked managerial, I tapped him on the shoulder and told him that I wished to convey to the manager that Sumit Tandon had been exceedingly accommodating. He smiled broadly as he responded, "Sumit Tandon is our Assistant General Manager."

Addendum: May I advise you backward looking jihadists and you isolationist politicos and journalists who guard an illusory status quo, stop deluding yourselves! Emerge from your myopic view of the world! America’s "benevolently despotic" presence in the heart of the Mideast is a mega-catalytic force that has the potential to bring this planet to levels of freedom and democracy it has never known before. Take pride, America! As long as people keep storming our gates to gain entrance, we must be doing something right!

Bienvenu Sumit Tandon!