It is a dangerous drift of how leadership is enacted: power over empathy, dominance over cooperation. This political tone, set by the U.S., is currently echoing far beyond its borders, reshaping the language and posture of power around the world. I was asked about my family members and my husband’s family members: their places of residence and their occupations. I was asked about my life in Lebanon: my home, work, my children, and why I lived there. Another man traveling with his elderly mother from Jordan (citizenship unclear to me) explained that he had accompanied her to help her while she visited family members.