I was browsing one of my old books – Barron’s 2001 Profiles of American Colleges – the other day and, once again, I realized several unique features of America as the world’s a course in miracles bookstore powerhouse.

First of all, America is a distinct educational destination which values pluralism. Besides the tens of thousands of educational institutions hosting students from America and the rest of the world, dotting the landscape of this mammoth country, America offers a whole world of college courses. These programs are of relevance to the American populace. Eskimo Studies, Jewish Studies, Native American Studies, Hispano-American and Mexican-American or Chicano Studies, and in recent years, Philippine Studies, are some of the peculiar programs offered in US universities which reflect the history and the increasingly multicultural and pluralistic heritage of the American people (It can also be inferred that the past colonial masters offer courses in their universities which mirror their imperial past. In the United Kingdom, Egyptology is a course offered at University of Oxford and Cambridge University. This scenario manifests British interest in Egypt which historically was one of the colonies in Imperial Britain’s spheres of influence). As a Boston resident, I am well aware that America, especially Boston, Massachusetts, is the keystone of world education. For instance, shop at a local Abercrombie and Fitch store, and you will come across hordes of multicultural youths. You can overhear them speaking in Central European, French, Japanese, British English, and myriads of other lingua francas, manifesting how America is the ultimate educational hotspot of the world. You will also find a group of well-dressed Japanese tourists politely volunteering to take my picture while I was strolling along School Street in Boston, thinking I was a visitor like them. Or a Red Cross volunteer reckoning me as a student and asking for my contribution. I agree with LL Cool J, a well-known rap artist, in remarking that regardless if America encounters financial and political turmoil, the superpower will always be number one in the world for primarily being a creative hub. Given the millions of this educational heartland’s citizens and growing, imagine the vast creativity this population can produce.

Second, no country in the world is as democratic as the United States. Academic freedom prevails everywhere. Students are encouraged to get involved and to speak up their points of view in as early as elementary school. The popularity of talk shows is aired during daytime, primetime, and late night, hinting you are in Oprah country.

Third, in the United States, the right to information is highly respected and observed. America is a reading society. Publishing and documentation are valued for their purpose of keeping the American public abreast with knowledge and events which affect their day-to-day lives. Furthermore, if you are curious about anything particular under the sun, expect that when you Google it, a mammon of information would be readily available for such subject has already been published or blogged about. I have experienced this particularly when I conducted my research about this contemporary phenomenon of students taking on study-abroad programs or traveling overseas to study college. Lo and behold, I realized that America has institutionalized the subject of my graduate thesis and has even coined the term for it – international education. And whoa, institutions like the Institute of International Education in New York City (where I ordered my references needed to complete my study) and the experts on international education have been in existence for a very long time! Furthermore, another scenario on how this information hub works is barely two months after the 33 Chilean miners got trapped in the centuries-old copper-gold mine in Chile, the book The 33 Men by American author Jonathan Franklin had already been published. Indeed, America is the place to be when you need a wealth of information for you research work or simply enjoy learning and finding out more. Furthermore, art films centering on the immense tendencies of human nature abound, like the ballet psychodrama The Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, Michael Fassbender’s film on sex addiction explained in Shame, and the Lolita-like young student-older man May-December love affair film An Education starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan facilitates your inner humanity to be tremendously developed if you live in the United States. This educational heartland enables an individual’s intent to be highly educated, civilized, classy and cultured.