WHAT IT IS. . .

This is for my friends in Canada, in New Zealand, in Mexico, Chile and Argentina; you have all asked me in your own way, What is it with America? You didn’t have to elaborate, I understood. A comprehensive response would require a very big book or a 4 hour, Ken Burns documentary. My challenge is to reduce it, as I see it, to 4 or 5 paragraphs. I think most of my countrymen, certainly the vocal element, they would not agree with me. 

Defining ‘American’ with a singular stereotype is too much to ask. Anyone tasked with telling their own story is faced with a dilemma. There is a human need to be accepted, to be included. The element of identity is incorporated in that inclusion. Once embraced, we all want to be perceived as ‘Good Guys’. But none of us are ‘Good Guys’ all the time. Sometimes we do ugly, terrible things (yes, we do) and even though we take what we can from those indiscretions, we don’t want them to be the core of our story. There is an American singer who is beautiful, talented, rich and famous. At photo shoots she only lets photographers work from one angle, her right side. That image is the only one she wants made public. The more proud we are, the more we protect that pride. If they can’t see our warts then we must be unblemished - ‘Denial’. 

National pride is a throwback to tribal society; anybody you didn’t know was your enemy. You were loyal to your own people, even the jerks and the A-holes. As much as we want to believe otherwise, we still do that.  At this point it’s right to discriminate between Patriotism and Nationalism, two similar but also very different Isms. The one is about love of country and willingness to sacrifice. The other is about the best interests of a nation and what we are willing to do to advance those best interests. Note; one is about love and sacrifice while the other is about wealth and power. They are not the same. What has happened in our story is - we have become increasingly Nationalistic, whatever the consequence, at whomever’s expense. At the same time, like the singer who only photographs her right side, we want only to show our best side. So we call our loyalty, Patriotism, awash in all of the warm, fuzzy feelings we associate with it. 

Stephen Decatur was a naval hero of the early 1800’s. His famous quote still carries weight. “Our country, may she always be right. But right or wrong, our Country!” From the military perspective, you don’t question the source of your orders, you follow them. But Decatur’s quote leaps the gap between the two Isms. Decatur’s words were a fitting precursor to Manifest Destiny. It would seem that God himself had chosen this nation to expand, coast to coast, by any means necessary, it was our destiny. From that exercise of conquest, ego and self righteous greed, an economy fueled by slave labor and predicated on the principle that enough is never enough, is still driving this rich, powerful Nation. 

Americans as a whole are a diverse lot, too much so to be lumped into one category. But we all want to believe we are ‘Good Guys’. Most of us take the Nationalist bait like hungry fish. We exaggerate our goodness and either deny or defend our crimes. Most of that justification comes through the employment of a righteous, angry, jealous God; the one that helps those who help themselves, a God that loves a good war. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave after all. We do a lot of good, both at home and afar but we spread evil as well. Collateral damage may not be intentional but it is certainly evil. The systematized, school-to-prison pipeline for black boys may be legal but it is certainly evil. The dichotomy is deadly. That’s who we are. It’s what it is. Our experiment with democracy is still in progress. History has no coherent plan, there is no predetermined course. Civilization is adrift as it has always been, like water moving down hill, following the path of least resistance. We are passengers, believing we are in control. Do we make history or does it make us? Chew on that for a while.

With a loving, forgiving indulgence I see my countrymen as well meaning at best and remorseless at worst. I like to steal lyrics from songs to frame ideas. Kris Kristofferson’s, ‘The Pilgrim’ has a great line that captures my sense of American national identity. It goes; “He’s a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction; taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.” I’m sure I’d feel better, even just for a while, if I believed in a God that loves a good war. So Alex and Martin, Liana and Gill; I’m sorry we’re not better neighbors. You said it so well Alex, “It’s like living next door to the Simpsons.”