I love many things about the United States, and I love coming home to New Mexico, which feels more like a separate country than anything belonging to the US. Still, once I land back in America there is a major hangover. This experience is more pronounced and shocking than ever before. It can be summed up by saying our girth goes up and our IQ goes down. Landing in Dallas after a flight from London, the overall health of Americans is on display, and the picture it paints isn’t pretty. And when I say “health,” I mean physical and mental.
Politics has become a public conversation.
And the depths of the stupidity leaving the mouths of Americans is enough to make you want to board a return flight. Everyone wanting to prove their side is right. Everyone wanting to punish the other side. Everyone spouting “alternative facts.” Both sides are guilty but the right has gone above and beyond in spewing their nonsense to the world at any opportunity. The tram between terminals becomes their pulpit as they rant and rave about whatever meal their masters served them that day. I don’t want to say these people are stupid, but I will say they are some of the most uninformed people I’ve ever seen. One example was my conversation with a right wing voter one month before the election. They had no idea Trump had installed three Supreme Court justices, nor did they know he had overturned Roe v Wade. But they were all in. When I questioned their news sources they replied, “My sources are diverse and I make sure to get the story from all angles.” Another bizarre happening is when my right-leaning friends visit Europe. I always ask about their trip, and the most common response is “It was fantastic, and the kids loved it.” And then these same people spout anti-Europe propaganda as soon as they return home. “Socialism, communism!” they shout online as their party sucks up to Putin. Again, these aren’t stupid people. These people are radicalized.
But this isn’t the entire story. There are other glaring deficiencies. The quality of food drops when returning to America. The efficiency of things like airport security drops. The attitude of airline employees and crews is openly hostile. The dress code is almost nonexistent as Americans leave the house in pajamas, sweatpants, and a range of other questionable outfits. You also lose nearly all public transportation. Subsidized gasoline has destroyed any chance we have at building a sustainable society. And forget about bike lanes. (I did ride a Brompton G-Line in London and riding on the “wrong” side of the road on a bike was semi-terrifying.)
Europe is far from perfect. They suffer the same hate issues we do. They have higher taxes. Their gasoline is roughly eight dollars a gallon. But they do so many things better than we do, and instead of pointing fingers and spouting disinformation, we should learn from our European friends to improve on things here at home. One of our students in Berlin had several major surgeries to cure a disease that nearly killed him. This included an initial eight-hour surgery and then extensive treatment after. He explained his hospital experience and the total cost, and what it would have cost had he chosen to undergo the same procedures here in America. Again, there is no comparison.
We’ve learned to settle in America. Average or below average is good enough. Heck, if it’s something our party is pushing we will push too even when it destroys the world around us. Healthcare, education, transportation, food quality, etc. Returning home I feel worse than I did before. Comedian Ron White coined the phrase “You can’t fix stupid.” Again, as spokesperson for all of America, I’m going to plead “temporary insanity,” instead of stupid. I’m assuming at some point Americans will snap out of their current funk and return to a place of intelligence, science, compassion, and progress. It might take hitting rock bottom racing up at us at light speed, but if we survive we might have a chance of making it through to the other side. In the meantime, we need to learn and we need to stop settling for the suck. And the next time you feel the urge to share your politics with strangers while waiting to board a flight, don’t.
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Having lived in Santa Fe in the mid nineties I’m glad still has that not quite living in the states vibe thats akin to New Orleans.
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It feels like landing in another country.
Daniel-san: spot-on rant.
We spent three weeks in Australia a few years ago. They have some of the same issues as we do (affordable housing, wealth inequality, poor treatment of indigenous people, etc.) but I was stunned at how well that country runs. And how affable the people are.
I even ended up in the hospital for a day or two in Brisbane, and their health care system is light years ahead of ours. And don’t get me started on the Scandinavian countries, which consistently rank among the happiest countries in the world (the U. S. is far down the list).
If I were in charge, I’d give every high school graduate in this country a passport and enough funds to travel for a year. Seeing how other people in this world live and what they value (and seeing that us Americans aren’t ‘all that and a bag of chips’) does wonders for your world view…
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Yes, Australia does a lot right as well. Not perfect by any means, but their medical system is light years ahead of ours. We ride on a misconception we are the best at everything, even when faced with massive amounts of data stating otherwise.
Love the idea of a passport + some funds for every high school graduate. YES! We lived in England for several years and it was illuminating for sure. Travel is a great eye-opener and equalizer – in the best possible way.
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I like that idea too. Like a year of service to the nation by getting out. A nation wide Peace Corp thingy.
Affordable housing is a problem here that isn’t going to get any better, but I would be interested to know what “poor treatment of indigenous people” you witnessed during a three week holiday in Australia or what you are referencing? I have lived here for 20 years and the ‘system’ bends over backwards to assist Aboriginals in all States, it hasn’t always been like that, but there is a misconception promoted in the left wing media, notably ABC and The Guardian, that there is still a lack of equality.
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I can’t speak for Paul, but I can speak to my 4,000 mile journey through WA. We visited remote Aboriginal communities, some on purpose and some by accident. There was a sizable conflict between the Aboriginals and the police. In fact, we got stopped on our way out of a remote community and the police asked us “How the heck did you get in there?” If they came close to the community they would be attacked. But my point is this. It felt like the government didn’t really know what to do. There was plenty of money being given out, houses too, but that doesn’t play to their lifestyle or beliefs. I have no idea what a good solution is. These were just observations I made. The locals, at least in some places, felt like the Aboriginals weren’t respectful because they destroyed the houses, but when you learned why this did so, it made sense in keeping with their traditions. Again, I’m an American with limited experience, but I see parallels with the Native American communities.
Speaking of high school students….my wife’s suggestion is the “exit exam” for high school be the same test we give to those applying for citizenship – makes sense – we are sending these students out into the world to vote and shape our country. They should know how our country works (at least in theory). All too often they are totally unaware of basis for our democracy – no wonder we are so often and so easily indoctrinated.
Aside: I really like the Brighton beach image – I see it as a print on Japanese Washi paper.
Dave: your wife is brilliant. Keep her…
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Agreed!
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Wow, that is a great idea. I would guess that less than 10% of high school students would pass, and I would guess the college grads would be roughly the same. Not sure I could pass it either.
I like the idea of passports and citizenship testing but would take it one step further:
Make the following subjects mandatory from elementary school on: logic (including informal fallacies), philosophy, civics, humanities, US history and world history. One hour for each and at least two days a week.
But not in the “listen and repeat” method that bores students out of their skulls. Make the lessons relevant to the students’ ages and the challenges they face today. Encourage class discussions and discussion between grade levels (think Montessori method).
Then give them a citizenship test sometime in high school. I would think the pass rate would be considerably higher. And I would think the conversations we overhear from a generation with that education might be actually more worth listening to.
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That’s now referred to as “communism” now. At least here. You can’t teach those things because they are aligned with the left. We need to pay teachers a decent wage too. And try to keep them from getting shot.
I travel to Japan fairly regularly and, although Japan isn’t perfect, it’s getting harder each trip for me to come back to the States. I get the “hangover” too.
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Yes, had major hangover after Japan too.
All this talk about politics and taxes and healthcare….can we, as Americans, please just start with something simple….like not wearing sweatpants, pajamas and Crocs in airports to travel? Start singular, work up to plural.
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It is stunning to see what goes down in public. The flight from Dallas to ABQ was so glaring after watching Londoners board at Heathrow. Cruel and unusual. Not to mention the behavior of some folks. I did see the woman next to me flipping TikTok the entire flight and I saw what she was watching. We have no hope. None. Zero.
I was in a tiny Irish pub in Donegal the night of the election with a handful of Irish people, and the TV was on reporting election results. I asked for a Guiness and because no one seemed to be paying attention to the TV, i asked if they could change the channel. That started a lengthy conversation with four very nice, very worldly gentlemen roughly my age about the state of politics in the US, the very last thing I wanted to talk about.
They were kind, educated, and completely aghast at the idea of us re-electing Trump for another term after they watched and read about 34 felony convictions, civil liability for a rape, guilty of fraud to the tune of $500 million and the tragic spectacle of January 6th. It was painful to listen to, not because I disagreed, quite the opposite. I was in Ireland to escape the US for a month because I too was dumbfounded that he was even allowed to run for re-election.
The good news is this right-wing nationalist craziness is everywhere right now (good news only that it makes us look slightly less mean and stupid since we aren’t the only ones) and we all shook our heads, stopped talking about the insanity of it all, and we talked for hours about the eight generation of fishermen two brother sitting across from were from, and that they were the last generation now. The boats and nets and pots had all been sold off a couple of years ago and they were enjoying their late sixties golfing, going to the gym and playing with grandchildren. Being 65 and newly retired, I was elated that we could talk of things decent and true and leave all the smallest and pettiness behind. At least for a long night in a sweet little pub in Donegal.
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That’s a good vignette you can keep locked away in your mind. No matter what happens here, they can’t take the memories. And yes, this last trip was a constant, polite inquiry as to how we could have re-elected this group. And this is coming from a Brexit world who said “Look, we screwed up,” but can’t believe Americans were radicalized enough to go down the Donny path once again. All of his legal issues and crimes are “funny” to his voters. I know this because they tell me. And remember, Hunter Biden was worse. (Must have heard this 1,000 times.)
I believe it was Anthony Bourdain who said “I wish more Americans had passports” He was spot on with that. Traveling makes you get out of the American bubble!
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Yes, it would make a difference. At least I think so. But first we would have to educate people as to why they would want to travel.
I say the same about the French every time I travel back from Italy. People dress so well there, and then you come back to Frenchmen in sweatpants.
We’re actually as dumb as Americans, just a different kind of dumb.
Paris is ahead in terms of cycle roads, but they are poorly designed. You have to wait in line for everything, even the smallest ones. There a dumb left and right politicians saying stuff that would shame your own politicians.
Grass is not greener here, it’s just a different shade…
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If Italy is ahead of France, France is still WAY ahead of us. Speaking about Paris, in general, the basics are far beyond here. You have a metro. Your “average” food service is far superior. Your population is more likely to speak a second language. You didn’t elect the far right. We did. Poorly designed or not, bicycle and bicycle infrastucture isn’t seen as “communism.” And nobody touches Trump when it comes to saying dumb things. Or his people. Remember, they coined “Alternative facts.” He told us to inject bleach, thought Finland was part of Russia, thought his wife was from the Balkans and wanted to nuke a hurricane. Sorry, when it comes to dumb, we are leading by a wide margin. And yes, there is the sweatpants things, and any major city you are also waiting in line. Banks, food, government offices, long, long cues with understaffed offices.
Hum hum: far right is not that far from power in France, you’d be surprised.
Cycling infrastructures are actually “socialism” here since it is a project from socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo and her predecessor, and they are buried behind every stupid sh.t she did while in power, and she did so much the city’s debt is terrifying (like “perceiving rentals from social buildings 10 years in advance to hide the debt but not nearly covering it” stupid sh*t). The big advance in bike lanes actually came from Covid which allowed for temporary bike lanes to exist and keep existing afterwards, otherwise we’d still be far behind. Metro just doubled prices this year because of war between Hidalgo and region president Valérie Pecresse, and became basically unaffordable for some people. So yeah, they did a lot for biking, until they start to ask for payment to park the bikes…
Food, yes, we win by far. Even our MacDonald’s is better.
Our president is a narcissistic A*hole who destroyed the country’s governance just to prove a point (he lost). Now he wants to go to war with Russia but hey, we don’t really have an army…
We have Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and worse, Rima Hassan, and basically any member of their LFI party, that run lapses around anybody else in terms of manipulation, lies, screaming and alt-truth. It’s the backbone of their business.
And we have the French people, who actually protest widely based on these alt-truths. Last week, men barred access to a feminist march to women while mansplaining (wrongly) they were “far-right zionists”, just because LFI legitimised antisemitism, among other things. It got so far I had to tell my kids (9 & 7 y.o.) to not reply to certain subjects in school to avoid getting caught in fights.
I like France and I love my city, but it is very far from perfect. And don’t get me started on taxes…
Nobody is ever happy but you can’t have it all: low taxes, good healthcare, good education, no private interests polluting everything, etc., it has to be an imperfect mix, and each country has his own. Someone talked about nordic countries, they have their own share of problems precisely because of their openness. The only perfect country is Italy (on holiday).
About waiting in lines, I think I just found my next photo project 😉
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I’m basing my entire campaign on ONE thing. Can I eat a train station sandwich in your country?
You could, but the real question is why would you want to do that?
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Because I can? You just can’t do it here. I mean you can but you would suffer. Whereas in your lovely land you could and it might even be good. The English have found a way.
I have a rule about eating anything outside: first I look what the people who are eating there look like, then I wonder if I want to look like them, because that’s what will happen if I eat like them. So yes, technically, you would survive a train station sandwich, and I have no doubt french ones seem delicious compared to american ones, but still, they are shit. I’ll take you to the good places, I promise. I’ll even show you where to get a decent onigiri at Gare Montparnasse 😉
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I am with you and I trust you.
Canadian. I’ve been watching America sliding downhill for decades, with the slope getting steeper and steeper. Trump’s first term in office was the edge of the cliff. Biden’s term in office was like dangling from a branch over the edge, trying to get back on solid ground. And then the branch ripped out and the free fall is happening. Nobody knows who is going to get crushed, or how big the splatter is going to be. Canada will almost certainly get some of the splash. At least there are indications we aren’t going to follow America over the cliff anymore. Some of the maple MAGA types are suddenly a whole lot quieter.
The last time I was in America was the mid 1990’s or so, and have no intention of ever going again. A place that thinks the solution to children being shot in schools is thoughts and prayers is not a place to visit. Or live, if you have any choice about it at all.
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Ya, the let’s pray for our kids things is so lame, each and every time. Not to mention the level of corruption involved when the findings are released, and then it’s all finger pointing. The right will say anything to cater to the gun crowd. And I’m not a “ban guns” person because I don’t think it’s possible. But blaming mental health, the latest strategy, is just another lame attempt at finding a way to coddle the gun nuts.
Welcome home get some rest and then come back over for some more 😀
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I’m feeling great. For some reason.
Until the 2024 election, I had no idea that there were so many people on the left and right that lack the ability to critically think.
Those are the type of people that can more easily be radicalized. To make matters worse, these people are not aware of their “disability”; the Dunning-Krueger Effect?
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Critical thinking is so lacking in our EDU system. And the data says people struggle to get there on their own. The numbers are terrifying, but give people a mobile phone and streaming and they don’t seem to care.