There is something clarifying about being far from home. In Cape Town, South Africa, where the mountains meet the sea and the horizon feels endless, distance creates a kind of stillness that invites reflection. But even here, halfway across the world, America is never far away. It lives in the conversations, the questions and the quiet curiosity of strangers trying to understand what is happening and where it is all heading.

What has struck me most is not just that people are paying attention but how intently they are watching. Taxi drivers, business leaders, students and shopkeepers all return to the same subject: the escalating conflict in the Middle East and what it means not just for that region but for the world. And inevitably, the conversation turns to the United States and to Donald Trump.

There is no indifference. Only interest. Sometimes admiration. Sometimes concern. Often both at once.

But here in South Africa, there is another reality that cannot be ignored, one that shapes how global events are felt on the ground. South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. Roughly 85 percent of the population is Black, yet a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth - estimated near 90% -- remains concentrated among white Afrikaner and minority populations. The legacy of apartheid is not history alone; it is still visible in daily life.

Progress has been made. Institutions like the University of Cape Town have opened doors, expanded access and produced graduates from all backgrounds at a high level. But education alone does not guarantee opportunity. For many, once the degree is earned, the pathway forward narrows. Jobs are scarce. Economic mobility remains........

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