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THE NARRATIVE ARC | PERSONAL ESSAY
The Critical Decision Every International Visitor Must Make About America
Why I drew my line and decided to stay away from the U.S.
Last weekend, I made a decision that felt both surreal and necessary: I canceled my trip to the Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado. My cancellation comes just weeks after I wrote about canceling the Arizona portion of my American journey — a piece that resonated with some 20,000 readers, far more than I anticipated. What I didn’t mention then was that Boulder — a conference and not part of my hiking trip — remained on my itinerary. Now, that too is gone.
“It is with profound regret that I must withdraw my participation from the upcoming Conference on World Affairs,” I wrote to the organizers. “For the past six or seven years, CWA has been my favorite intellectual gathering, and I’ve often described it as such to colleagues.”
The letter was a particularly hard one to write. The CWA has been an annual highlight of my calendar — a week of intense intellectual exchange, unexpected connections, and the particular beauty of Colorado in spring. The unique concept, the quality and originality of the exchanges, the wonderful Boulder community, and the friendships I’ve cultivated have made…
