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shusu and wayfairer!!!
And a very happy Guy Fawkes Day! Somebody light something on fire for me.:-)
This is probably going to be another rambly post as I try to work things out. I don't usually think about America as a mythical entity, but I sort of have been since Tuesday. This isn't a criticism of anything on lj, really, just a general something I've noticed since 9/11. Maybe it's mostly due to my personal perspective and projections, but
Right after 9/11--the day of, actually, I remember watching BBC news and they had a correspondent in NYC and asked him, "What's it like there? Presumably there's quite an atmosphere of fear and dread." At home I thought, "Huh? No, not really." And the correspondent paused and said, "No...no, actually there is no overwhelming atmosphere of fear. People are out, walking around, talking, eating at restaurants. If anything this seems to have convinced them even more that they live in the best city in the world." Heh. It was kind of true. But anyway yes, there really was no panic. It was sad and disturbing, but I guess Rudy Guilliani was the perfect face for it in the way he got to work and consistently appealed to people's common sense. When someone asked a hysterical leading question he called them on it. He kept saying things like, "NY is stronger than this. This is not the end of the world. We are not the first city to be attacked." That was very reassuring.
Unfortunately, I felt like immediately afterwards, as soon as the Federal Government snapped out of its deer-in-the-headlights shock, it set to work destroying just that kind of feeling. I kept thinking myself how 9/11 probably would have been a great mobilizing force to get people to, for instance, cut down on their fuel consumption, but no, the opposite was encouraged. I think people really wanted to do something constructive, but the government and the media, it seemed to me, kept telling people no, don't do that. If you do that the terrorists win. Here's what you do: Buy stuff. Worry about you and yours. Quietly panic. Pray to the Christian God to smite non-believers. Worry some more. Drive around in a gas guzzling car. Practice being a victim.
And people did.
In a way, those days were probably the time I got my first inkling of being "the liberal elite." I remember talking on a mailing list and saying something about how one good thing that might come of this was maybe it would inspire more Americans to see themselves as part of the world where there were other countries that affected us and that we affected. I thought this was a pretty non-radical thing to say, and was surprised to find that this statement seemed to be considered offensive by a lot of people. For two reasons: one, it was taken to mean that I was saying people were hicks for not having made The Grand Tour of Europe or something. They didn't have the money to go to Europe! How dare I suggest they go to France when they had bills to pay! I was completely confused--I didn't mean you had to tour Europe, I just suggested a sort of change in perspective. Second it was bad because thinking about other countries seemed to be the same as putting other countries ahead of America: Why should I go to Versailles? Have you ever been to Carlsbad Caverns? Ha! You hate America! So I learned: don't even suggest that other countries are countries the way America is.
Unfortunately it began to seem that for a lot of people (not all, of course), the main way they began to relate to other countries was to consider whether they felt sorry enough for America after 9/11. Genuine sympathy was sadly often taken as owed rather than really appreciated. I've just felt like the media/gov't whatever continues to appeal to just that side of the American character and it's really embarrassing! So I think it kind of is probably hard for me to not ever come across as sounding sort of...contemptuous at times, and hopefully not just along something like red/blue state lines, because I don't think it's that. It's not that I have any sort of blanket hatred for people who voted for Bush or live in a red state; I honestly don't. It's just it worries me that there seems to be such a big movement right now in this country towards both seeing yourself as a victim and easily writing off anything like the real thing. Sometimes it feels like the strong part of the country (by which I don't mean "me" or "my part of the country" but just individuals or groups that don't see things this way) is constantly having to adapt to the needs of the weak and demanding.
And I really feel--getting back to the attitude after 9/11--that this is something that can be changed, because I thought the original response to that day was healthy and strong. I think I was just really disappointed that the heroic image we immediately had seemed to get taken over by tackiness and schmaltz. I really believe that if the government had stepped up and given people positive things to do and laid out a reasonable change in attitude we would be much stronger today no matter who was president. Instead I feel like we're just encouraged to throw a blanket over our heads all the time, to be resentful and defensive for no reason. When that kind of attitude takes control I find it hard to believe we'll be able to do anything successfully. I just feel like we spend so much time convincing ourselves we've done nothing wrong we can't fix anything we have, and so much time accusing other people of being mean to us we can't benefit from any good advice we might have for us.
I mean, I realize that when somebody calls you stupid it gets your back up, but you know? Maybe I'm weird, but no matter how angry I am at somebody calling me stupid, I'll pretty much always consider the possibility before I completely dismiss it. Likewise, I do actually read posts by people who voted for Bush and wonder if they are correct in the way they see things. Honestly, there have been few that I have come across of any substance, unfortunately. But not all of them. So really, while I currently still believe I made the right choice in my vote for President, I hope that if somebody proved to me I was wrong I'd have the guts to just admit it-and be happy, really, because I would love to have the best man for the job in office. As I've said before, I'd rather be right than just win a stupid argument. I just feel like somewhere along the line somehow this country lost the desire to be that way and settled for something worse. We don't seem to strive to be anything I would consider, for lack of a better word, cool. Our national character just seems kind of petty, and that's not something I'd want my own name attached to, let alone God's.
shusu and wayfairer!!! And a very happy Guy Fawkes Day! Somebody light something on fire for me.:-)
This is probably going to be another rambly post as I try to work things out. I don't usually think about America as a mythical entity, but I sort of have been since Tuesday. This isn't a criticism of anything on lj, really, just a general something I've noticed since 9/11. Maybe it's mostly due to my personal perspective and projections, but
Right after 9/11--the day of, actually, I remember watching BBC news and they had a correspondent in NYC and asked him, "What's it like there? Presumably there's quite an atmosphere of fear and dread." At home I thought, "Huh? No, not really." And the correspondent paused and said, "No...no, actually there is no overwhelming atmosphere of fear. People are out, walking around, talking, eating at restaurants. If anything this seems to have convinced them even more that they live in the best city in the world." Heh. It was kind of true. But anyway yes, there really was no panic. It was sad and disturbing, but I guess Rudy Guilliani was the perfect face for it in the way he got to work and consistently appealed to people's common sense. When someone asked a hysterical leading question he called them on it. He kept saying things like, "NY is stronger than this. This is not the end of the world. We are not the first city to be attacked." That was very reassuring.
Unfortunately, I felt like immediately afterwards, as soon as the Federal Government snapped out of its deer-in-the-headlights shock, it set to work destroying just that kind of feeling. I kept thinking myself how 9/11 probably would have been a great mobilizing force to get people to, for instance, cut down on their fuel consumption, but no, the opposite was encouraged. I think people really wanted to do something constructive, but the government and the media, it seemed to me, kept telling people no, don't do that. If you do that the terrorists win. Here's what you do: Buy stuff. Worry about you and yours. Quietly panic. Pray to the Christian God to smite non-believers. Worry some more. Drive around in a gas guzzling car. Practice being a victim.
And people did.
In a way, those days were probably the time I got my first inkling of being "the liberal elite." I remember talking on a mailing list and saying something about how one good thing that might come of this was maybe it would inspire more Americans to see themselves as part of the world where there were other countries that affected us and that we affected. I thought this was a pretty non-radical thing to say, and was surprised to find that this statement seemed to be considered offensive by a lot of people. For two reasons: one, it was taken to mean that I was saying people were hicks for not having made The Grand Tour of Europe or something. They didn't have the money to go to Europe! How dare I suggest they go to France when they had bills to pay! I was completely confused--I didn't mean you had to tour Europe, I just suggested a sort of change in perspective. Second it was bad because thinking about other countries seemed to be the same as putting other countries ahead of America: Why should I go to Versailles? Have you ever been to Carlsbad Caverns? Ha! You hate America! So I learned: don't even suggest that other countries are countries the way America is.
Unfortunately it began to seem that for a lot of people (not all, of course), the main way they began to relate to other countries was to consider whether they felt sorry enough for America after 9/11. Genuine sympathy was sadly often taken as owed rather than really appreciated. I've just felt like the media/gov't whatever continues to appeal to just that side of the American character and it's really embarrassing! So I think it kind of is probably hard for me to not ever come across as sounding sort of...contemptuous at times, and hopefully not just along something like red/blue state lines, because I don't think it's that. It's not that I have any sort of blanket hatred for people who voted for Bush or live in a red state; I honestly don't. It's just it worries me that there seems to be such a big movement right now in this country towards both seeing yourself as a victim and easily writing off anything like the real thing. Sometimes it feels like the strong part of the country (by which I don't mean "me" or "my part of the country" but just individuals or groups that don't see things this way) is constantly having to adapt to the needs of the weak and demanding.
And I really feel--getting back to the attitude after 9/11--that this is something that can be changed, because I thought the original response to that day was healthy and strong. I think I was just really disappointed that the heroic image we immediately had seemed to get taken over by tackiness and schmaltz. I really believe that if the government had stepped up and given people positive things to do and laid out a reasonable change in attitude we would be much stronger today no matter who was president. Instead I feel like we're just encouraged to throw a blanket over our heads all the time, to be resentful and defensive for no reason. When that kind of attitude takes control I find it hard to believe we'll be able to do anything successfully. I just feel like we spend so much time convincing ourselves we've done nothing wrong we can't fix anything we have, and so much time accusing other people of being mean to us we can't benefit from any good advice we might have for us.
I mean, I realize that when somebody calls you stupid it gets your back up, but you know? Maybe I'm weird, but no matter how angry I am at somebody calling me stupid, I'll pretty much always consider the possibility before I completely dismiss it. Likewise, I do actually read posts by people who voted for Bush and wonder if they are correct in the way they see things. Honestly, there have been few that I have come across of any substance, unfortunately. But not all of them. So really, while I currently still believe I made the right choice in my vote for President, I hope that if somebody proved to me I was wrong I'd have the guts to just admit it-and be happy, really, because I would love to have the best man for the job in office. As I've said before, I'd rather be right than just win a stupid argument. I just feel like somewhere along the line somehow this country lost the desire to be that way and settled for something worse. We don't seem to strive to be anything I would consider, for lack of a better word, cool. Our national character just seems kind of petty, and that's not something I'd want my own name attached to, let alone God's.
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It's nice that all those non-Americans have such clear instructions, though. I mean, we help you out by telling you what you're supposed to say in almost any situation. No, you can't have an opinion who our president is. Yes, you're supposed to agree with that president on everything, especially if it affects you!
Disclaimer: my country is guilty of this too, given how much my Prime Minister likes to suck Bush's cock. And then they are against gay marriage. Go figure.)
LOL!
One of the funniest things about this election is in the US you can see how attached people are to their *region,* which isn't really surprising. It's just weird that only certain regions seem to see themselves as being the "real America." Of course I've known for a long time that my own area isn't the real America since it's not "the heartland" or the south, but it's just weird that those regions have for some reason decided to define themselves that way and people buy it. Not that everyone in those regions thinks that way, of course. It's just that myth seems to be attached to certain areas more than others, not just in a half-joking way or a "pride in my region" way, but literally.