The Real America

People often pose the question: what is the real America? Is it defined geographically by the Rockies of the West, the Great Plains of the Midwest, the big cities of the eastern seaboard, the bayous of the southern states? Is it demarcated by religion or race? What of wealth and poverty? The short answer is all of these and more. America has a complex, vital society with an economy to match. Sadly, the poor and underclass don’t feature much but they too are an integral part of the real America.

These days, I am in denial about USA because of the appalling and infuriating antics of the people in the White House and on The Hill, especially in relation to the shutdown. Some of these politicians seem to have forgotten that they owe their exalted, privileged positions to the people they are there to serve. At the moment, there seems to be a lot of political point scoring as the US government remains shut and the millions of people they serve suffer as federal employees are either furloughed or work without pay.

To counter this, I have reminded myself of the words of Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville: “Americans of all ages, all conditions and all dispositions constantly form associations…If it is proposed to inculcate some truth or foster some feeling by the encouragement of a great example, they form a society.”

De Tocqueville wrote these words in the 1830s. He had been sent to America to research the prison systems but in almost a decade of travel, he observed all American society. Were he to return to America today, I believe he would see that, especially outside the Washington Beltway, his observations still have merit.

De Tocqueville’s views have not been without challenge. In Bowling Alone, published in 2000, Robert Putnam put the case that Americans have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbours and democratic structures. The book warns Americans that their stock of "social capital", the connections with each other, has been slowing down with a resulting impoverishment of lives and communities.

Accepting the principle that government, whether federal, state or city, cannot do everything, so many of my American friends and relations engage in voluntary work. Here are a few examples. Let’s start with my best man who carried out his duties for me some 45 years ago with complete excellence. He and his family moved to the USA a few years later. Time passed and he was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain.

My friend joined the Board of the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 1998. He became chairman in 2000 and stood down in 2013.  Around 2005, the name of the non-profit was changed to The Facial Pain Association in recognition of a broader scope of facial pains. The FPA is recognized as the leading source of information and support for facial pain sufferers with a medical advisory board made up of leading clinicians. My friend served for all that time without remuneration.

He believes there is a strong sense of volunteerism in the US, not just among disease related causes.  According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million non-profit organizations in America. People volunteer for the YMCA, Boys clubs, local community activities, and the Salvation Army among the many non-profits. He sees a sense of wanting to give back to society from a sense of personal good fortune.

It’s easy to find support for my friend’s views. A family member and close friend volunteered for nine years under an appointment from the Chief Judge of the Oregon Supreme Court to a Citizens’ Review Board. The function of the CRBs is to conduct reviews of cases of children in out-of-home placements.  For the most part, these children were in foster care, but some were in group homes or treatment facilities. The task is overwhelming for the courts but it is important work and needs well-qualified people to help. It is particularly demanding at the sharp end. I am humbled by what she has done.

My friend volunteered without remuneration even though the work took its toll. She resigned only when family pressures found her needed out of state. In addition, once a week, this person volunteers with her partner to plan, shop, prepare, cook, serve and clean up a dinner to seniors in her home town. This work entails hours of preparation. They also volunteer at nearby Crater Lake, an amazing place and well worth a visit. They assist at the Information Centre. 

My friend’s children are also no slouches when it comes to volunteering. One, together with her husband, both attorneys, do pro bono legal work. They are officers of a high school Alumni Board that raises funds for scholarships for inner-city high school kids. They are cross-country ski coaches for elementary-aged school kids through Parks and Rec.

My friend’s other daughters both do voluntary work, despite their heavy work schedules. One attends meetings once a week at a detox facility where people might be ready to make a change in their lives. Another cooks dinners and/or caters celebrations for friends and co-workers. None are paid for their services.

My friend’s partner is an equally active volunteer. I asked her to tell me in detail about her work. These are some of her words:

“I got started volunteering in library things here [in South Oregon] in 2008 or 09, when I was asked to serve on the Library Advisory Committee (LAC), a powerless committee which made recommendations to the County Commissioners about libraries, invariably ignored. At my first meeting, I confessed to being a retired law librarian, which then got me appointed to the Law Library Advisory Committee (LLAC).

“After a year or so, the LAC needed a new volunteer to be a liaison to the Library Foundation Board. I agreed to take this on. I learned that the "liaison volunteer" served as a full Foundation board member. I'm still there eight years later. In 2013, the County decided it no longer could afford libraries, and we'd have to get a levy or a special taxing district or they'd close the libraries. I joined a campaign committee and in 2014 we passed a ballot measure creating a library special district to take over operation of the libraries from the county. I also ran and was elected to the volunteer governing board. I'm in my second year as chair of that august body.

“We oversee 15 branches of various sizes that are scattered all over the county. It takes me an hour and a half to drive from the Prospect branch to the furthest branch to the west. These libraries serve our county with a population of about 220,000. We have taxing authority for up to $.60/$1000 of assessed valuation on county real estate. We currently levy $.52 because the county had earlier closed the libraries and then reopened them to be operated by a third party contractor at half the previous hours. The Library District has spent a lot of time fighting with the contractor for being a cheapskate. We've given notice and in July 2020 we will take over full operation of the libraries. I spend a ton of time on this one.”

Those of us who use libraries know how important they are, not merely for borrowing books but as an Information Centre for local people. The work being done by this individual is so valuable yet she is happy to do it without remuneration.

My wife is fortunate in having a huge family of cousins. Pretty well all of them including many of the youngest generation engage in all kinds of volunteering. In Florida, I know a person who is keen to volunteer in a cat rescue programme once she is well enough to do so. And so it goes on. We have friends all over USA, all of whom consider it an honour to volunteer. I am always amazed how people will give their time and expertise to help others who may be less fortunate.

My limited research cannot justify a conclusion that in general, Americans are ready, willing, able and happy to volunteer for all kinds of things in the community. But what I would suggest is that here is where you find the real America. Not D.C., not Wall Street, not Hollywood. It gives me faith that once the current crop of avaricious politicians are either kicked out or mend their ways, a kinder, more caring and pleasant America will emerge, the one I knew when I first started to cross the Atlantic in the 1960s.