In today’s time of global sorrow and turmoil, international marketers have an important role to play.  They need
to be the guardians who separate fact from fiction in
policy, practitioner, and consumer discussions when it
comes to global marketing and trade.  Qualified not by weight of office but by expertise, thoughtfulness, and knowledge rather that emotions, international marketing professors must be the guarantors and guides towards appropriately free and open markets.

To do so, one key dimension to focus on is the professing
of one’s expertise.  Professors are the ones who have chosen to profess, which means to make an open or public declaration of their views, to make protestations or a show of or to affirm and avow one’s perspective (Webster, 1972).  All too often, there is an unwillingness of today’s
academics to publicly step up and separate right from
wrong in their field.  Many also hesitate to prescribe
rather than just describe. It often appears as if 
international marketing academics assume that everyone
is aware of the benefits of free trade.  But among the general public, not all are concerned or have had the
benefit of insight through academic training in
international marketing.  Ignorance and apathy
remain key enemies of the truth. 

In addition, arguments from university settings may
often be dismissed as coming from individuals who are
not relevant in the practical sense and who bear no responsibility for their statements.  Real-life marketing managers are held accountable by their constituents; a standard that does not always hold for international marketing professors.  Such accountability can only
increase if professors seek out positions of responsibility,
be it as board members in associations, as advisors to governments, or as consultants to business.

In the near future, everything international may be challenged due to the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.  It is, therefore, necessary to provide cogent, concise, and easily understood information on key issues.  For example, individuals need to understand why
a reduction of barriers to international marketing is important (Czinkota 2000).  One also needs to address
and remove the many misconceptions that abound in the international marketing field.   For example, many believe that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has the power
to override domestic laws.  This is not the case.  Nonetheless, many individuals and firms believe that this
is so – akin to the use of black helicopters by the United Nations.  Similarly, survey research has indicated that in 1981, 12% of US workers were fearful of losing their jobs.  In 2000, that fear of job loss had more than tripled, even though unemployment had declined from well over 7% in 1981 to just 4% in 2000.  (Hills, 2001) 

Knowing the facts and explaining them in context should
be a key role for international marketing academics.
 They should be proud of their field and should be
cogniscent that they may well be the only thin three-
striped black line able to keep apart fact, fiction, and emotion. While it is unlikely that professors can ever
dictate decisions, they should be the ones providing the factual input, so that decisions, however they may come
out, have had a least a chance of being grounded in reality.  Just imagine, in days of future IMF demonstrations, academics could become the original cast members of an international marketing reality TV show!