Open Writing

In recent times, the USA has unwittingly assumed the role of the world’s villain, largely because of the inept foreign policy of its government. In its pursuit of freedom for all, the USA has become a warrior nation, wielding unprecedented military power in the cause. Superficially, the reputation may seem massively deserved, but as seen by its citizens from inside the country, the demonizing of America is difficult to understand and painful to acknowledge.

In order to better understand this dichotomy, it is necessary to examine the make up of the population and what factors characterize the Nation. Like Canada and Australia, there are two aspects that bear strongly on its national persona: 1) it is a very young country, and 2) it is populated predominantly by people who themselves, or their forebears, left their country of origin for economic reasons, or to escape religious or political persecution.

At the present time, indigenous Americans amount to only 2.4 million out of a total estimated population of 297 million. Of the rest, by far the largest group, 215 million, are classified as “White European or Middle Eastern. Asians, Hispanics and “Others” total around 44 million, with African American descendants of slaves at 35 million.

The painful and often life threatening experiences that brought many immigrants to the USA may be as recent as a year past, or at most a few generations. The memories of their flight, and the events that precipitated it are still strong, even two or three generations later, kept alive by much retelling, and increasingly by visits to their homeland, where remnants of their family may still remain.

Contemporary America was forged on the anvil of revolution, and shaped by a constitution that embodied some very high-minded principles related to personal freedoms. These principles are so altruistic, and one might say naïve, that it is a miracle they have survived more or less intact until the present. Tragically, the threats to the constitution have come most strongly from the very politicians who pledged to protect and uphold it, and it is a testament to the effectiveness of the political process that they have not prevailed.

Given this background, it is not surprising that the USA would be perceived as an attractive haven for the oppressed. If it needed any embellishment, the “American way” is also demonstrably successful in purely material terms. Certainly, the streets aren’t paved with gold, and not all immigrants have thrived, but the means are there to find security, prosperity and happiness without hindrance from class and caste barriers.

Among those means it is noteworthy that a basic education is mandatory and freely available to all, and a higher education is obtainable at minimum cost. My wife, who is a first generation American, received her education through to her Doctorate at no cost to her parents, by means of scholarships and what she earned. A more valuable tool for prospering is hard to imagine.

All of the above factors fuel a fierce and very overt patriotism, not found elsewhere in such a vehement form. They also underpin the generosity of Americans, a characteristic that would be acknowledged by even its worst enemies. Americans love their country, and want everyone else in the world to benefit from what they see as the fruits of democracy and freedom. This allows for almost unquestioning support of their government when it decides on war as a way to bring “freedom” to what it perceives as an oppressed people. “My country right or wrong” is not an idle catch phrase.

That this out-flowing of ambition and generosity towards the less fortunate goes inevitably and terribly wrong is attributable to the American ignorance of other cultures, and of the history of the countries it sets out to “liberate.” Cultural “blindness” is pervasive in the population at large, and, most dangerously, even among the political elite. This is ironic given the multicultural make up of the Nation.

Over the years, cultural awareness has been subordinated to heavy reliance on “Intelligence.” The CIA and the National Security Council, have become the interpreters of the needs and ambitions of other countries. By their own admission they have failed miserably. At the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, there were very few members of the intelligence community who were fluent in the languages of those countries, and they had no agents who were equipped to infiltrate the populations.

Almost all the intelligence gathering techniques relied on satellite surveillance, and on the monitoring of cell phone “chatter,” a strategy not likely to gain insights into the hearts and minds of ancient cultures. Meanwhile, geography has not been taught in most American public schools for years, until recently, and Comparative Religions as a subject in schools is an anathema in a country that is paranoid about maintaining the separation of Church and State.

As an immigrant to the USA who was not fleeing anything in particular, except possibly the English caste system, I don’t personally share the patriotic passions of my fellow American citizens, but I have learned to love the country and its people, and I feel their pain and bewilderment. There is no quick solution to creating a better understanding of other cultures, but it is my hope that this period in American history will lead to the end of the American nightmare and a return to the American Dream.

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