To what extent are ones feelings about a
country and their people influenced by their politics? I took made many European
trips during my business life, as well as great vacations but got to understand
little about the politics of France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. However,
almost from the day I stepped foot in America, I was confronted by its politics.
For example, why were security people at Kennedy Airport armed? In the 1970s,
we Brits did not see armed police on our streets except in truly exceptional
circumstances. But I had no idea then of Second Amendment rights.
My love affair proper
with America started rather badly in 1970. I went to New York for three weeks, arriving
on a hot, sticky August night. I was not prepared for the sight of policemen
guarding the airport with guns. Nor did I appreciate the extreme heat. The car
taking me to Sheepshead Bay had no air-conditioning. I opened the passenger
window and was blasted. It felt like I had put my head in a furnace.
Things improved rapidly. I
loved the people I met. I saw so many astonishing things, including a cricket
match in a park in Brooklyn. The players wore whites. The foundations of the
World Trade Centre were almost completed. The equipment at the foot looked like
toys. The sheer energy of the place was addictive. New York City was the
greatest place on earth. I was hooked.
Four years later, I was
back. First, I went to the Twin Cities in Minnesota to meet new family and
friends. It was August again and the heat at night was unbearable for me. 95
degrees plus at two in the morning is not fun. The moral, I told myself, is
don’t visit the States in August. But the people I met were more than
compensation. I admit I poked fun at them about their accents. Did you know
there is no difference between roof and ruff? Mind you, I came in for a lot of ribbing
for the way I spoke. I am delighted to say that many people I met on that trip still
remain the closest of good friends.
It was on that trip that
I started to understand America’s federal politics. Richard Nixon was coming to
the end of his Presidency. The mixture of emotions towards the President that I
found in 1970, roused mainly by Vietnam, had changed to mass vilification. Watergate
dominated American media and politics, as I found whilst travelling from the
Midwest to California and then New York. People had forgotten that this much derided
President had a successful domestic policy. He resolved a huge social problem,
integrating white and black schools. His concept of ‘busing’ was scorned and
unpopular to begin with but the policy worked.
It still staggers me that
the Nixon administration would be politically left of a Democratic
administration now. It was also on this trip that I began to understand that
impeachment was a political, not legal process. Furthermore, the real federal
power lies with Congress, not the executive branch, if those elected on the
Hill want to take control.
I was in Naples, Florida in
1981, shortly after Reagan was elected, acting for clients who enthused about
the new economics of ‘supply side’ and ‘trickle down.’ To me, Reagan’s people
were like snake oil salesmen. The middle class and working class Americans were
being fooled. My clients would be the beneficiaries of the policy while the
poor struggled. But you don’t bite the hands that feed. In the 1980s, I didn’t
enjoy my US trips much. Wall Street was all about greed and the mood seemed to
extend nationwide. The four years of Bush senior were memorable too for the
wrong reasons. I was in Vermont when the Gulf War started. The people I met
were not gung-ho in a time when the media was full of “let’s kick-ass.”
Travelling to America
during the Clinton years was usually fun. True, the administration ran into all
kinds of road blocks. I was in Miami Beach for the impeachment trial, which was
such a farce. However, the President saw off his political enemies in some
style. Later, his moves to relegate Speaker Newt Gingrich to the House back
benches was a sight to see. It was in those eight years, when I took almost
fifty trips to the States that I felt I was coming home every time I landed. I
came to realise that America is a vast country of contrasts. You can go to
Santa Fe for the opera in the open air and to mid-Florida for women’s coleslaw
wrestling, eat in roadside diners or Boston’s Legal Seafood. What a treat!
As for the “W” years, I
was in Scottsdale, Arizona on election night when Gore conceded and later
challenged the Florida vote. A few days later, I had moved on to Miami where
the news was dominated by “chads” and the Supreme Court appeal. I believe the
Supremes came up with a unique decision, in that they expressed that it could
not be used as a precedent, hence my belief that the Court, too, is as
political as legal.
I was fated to be in
Grand Central Station on 9/11. The subsequent increased levels of security were
expected but America went over the top. I still don’t understand why you can’t
bring certain items through security. The rudeness of Homeland Security
personnel remains unforgiveable in many ports of call. I would travel through
Raleigh, NC, every day if it meant I could avoid New York, Chicago and many
other airports. The mood of the country became meaner. It must be worrying to
be an American-Muslim now but it can’t have been easy for this group after
9/11. Replace “Red” with “Muslim” before Scare and you have history repeating
itself.
I regard America on three
levels: a place to make great friends and be with family, a place for exciting
vacations and a place to do business and research. The first and second have,
by and large, been wonderful and unaffected personally by politics. The third has
been patchy when it comes to business but the research trips were mind-blowing.
The knowledge of the people who helped me cannot be understated.
America is the most
political of places. Voter turnout in important elections is lower than here in
UK but pretty well every American I know is politically aware and eloquent in
the advocacy of a position. Interest is both federal and local and
conversations are lively. I admit to enjoying poking the bear when taking the
pro-Second Amendment people on. I may run the risk of having a gun pulled on me
but what is life without a little risk. After all, Eleanor Roosevelt was quoted
as saying, “every week we should do something that scares us.”
My travelling days to the
USA are pretty well over but through the medium of the internet, I keep my many
conversations with American friends and relations going. I look forward to
having my opinions challenged for a long time to come.
I cannot decide what the
Trump years will bring. America is in a brief period of comparative political
calm but come 20th January next year, this will change fast. Will
Obama have made a recess appointment to the Supreme Court? What will Trump actually
do on his first day in office? Is Obamacare for the trash can? I welcome the
short breathing space whilst all we have to work with is guesswork and
conjecture.
I am taking a break from
the Blog until the New Year. May I wish all my readers the compliments of the
Season.
