I have to shake my
head in wonder every time I read another British or European headline about the
alleged threat of ‘America tearing itself apart’ or a mind-numbing essay
about the ‘Two Americas’. I’ve got news for the author of that
particular tome. There are far more than two Americas. Calm down people. Stop
hyperventilating. America is – always has been and God willing always will be
-- a big, sprawling country filled with contradictions.
Even without the
loud, gaudy showmanship of someone like Donald Trump America presents the polar
opposite to the relatively small, relatively well controlled, relatively
discrete countries of Europe where one never, ever brags about his own wealth
and certainly never drives around in a pick-up truck with deadly weapons carried
on a rack behind the driver.
Of course there
are deep cultural differences between various parts of the country. Not too
many New Yorkers familiar with the canyons of Manhattan want to swap them for
the real canyons and mountains of the wild west. Fortunately there’s enough
room for everyone to find a place suitable for the life-style of his or her
choosing. You want to live the life of a mountain man high in the Rockies? Be
my guest. The thought of venturing west of the Hudson River causes you to break
out in a cold sweat? Stay home. Be my guest. No one is going to stop you.
 |
Scary. But how representative?
|
What most European
commentators seem to miss about the coming ‘cataclysm’ in America is just how
superficial most of the noise really is. Yes, pictures of wild demonstrations
and guys with guns and motorcycles make scary
pictures. God knows, you can find them in America – just like you can find just
about every sort of clan, tribe, cult, freak show you can imagine. But, and
this is a big but, just how much of the total society of more than 360
million people do they represent? Not much. Occasionally some of these groups
do break out in violent, bloody actions like the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995
where members of a militia group bombed a federal building killing 168 people. What
was overlooked in the aftermath was the universal condemnation from all segments
of the allegedly fractured society. The show of unity was far greater and
longer lasting than that one deranged incident.
My advice to
foreign commentators looking for evidence to support their pre-formed opinions
is to look deeper. Go beyond the blaring headlines and political follies of
Washington and see how the country works and why it will most likely stay
together. One of the immediate observations will be just how de-centralized the
system really is. Unlike most of Europe decisions of the central government do
not control or even heavily impact what is important in most people’s daily
lives.
It is precisely
everyday issues like schools, roads, local taxes that people in the thousands
of communities across the country – not the central government – decide. Just
look at the difference in how communities in Europe and the United States are
funded.
In Europe well over 90% of funding for local communities comes from the
central government. With that funding comes central control over what is done
in local communities. In the United States the situation is reversed. More than
90% of any town’s budget comes from that town, from property taxes on homes and
businesses. When I was starting as a rookie journalist I covered these towns
and I can assure you the locals were determined to keep control. Offers of
state or federal funding were often rejected because of the strings attached.
Town councils spent days agonizing over budgets and how much property taxes
would have to be increased to pay for schools, police, fire departments,
libraries, health care etc.
This also explains the huge differences and
inequalities in education systems. Wealthy communities like Greenwich, Connecticut
can afford the best schools money can buy. Rural communities have trouble
scraping up money for math teachers let alone fancy after-school programs. I often witnessed unlikely scenes where a
bearded, heavily tattooed, Hell’s Angels member and a country club matron would
join forces to argue for increased school funding. After all, Hell’s Angels
have kids too.
 |
Town meetings decide critical local issues
|
The point is that
in these communities where issues critical to people’s everyday lives are
decided there is very little room for political identification as a Republican,
Democrat, Libertarian, Moon Worshipper or anything else. People are forced to
work together. Pot holes aren’t Republican or Democrat. They’re just pot holes
that need to be fixed – by the people of that town not some distant figure in
Washington.
So whatever
happens on Election Day this week just relax. Put your feet up, have a glass of
wine confident that one day – post-Covid of course – you can visit America and
not have to worry about getting caught in the cross fire of a civil war.
