A Posting from America
It is always with a bit of anticipation and trepidation that I return to the US after a spell of life in the UK. This time I have not been back since 2007 when I visited family in Virginia and then gave a lecture at the California Western Law School in San Diego.
What would be different? What would be the same? How would I feel?
I have been here since the 26th of July and I am here to visit family in Norfolk, VA for two weeks. After the usual long drive to Heathrow (4 hours this time), flight to Dulles (8 hours), layover (3 hours), and flight to Norfolk (28 minutes), I arrived to a sweltering 97 degrees F and beautiful sunshine.
The pulse in America is very different to life in the UK. There is an urgency to the discourse (well on CNN anyway) and within the book shops, the ‘current affairs’ section is teeming with fear-mongering books from the left and from the right. The right is worried about the undermining of traditional values and threats to the homeland, the left is worried about the assault on liberties and the loss of the basic promise of justice. The president is accused of lacking ‘cojones’ and the oil spill clean up has entered the phase of ‘static kill’; a strange terminology in my view, but the latest attempt to plug the well in the Gulf, while the new debate on the use of disperants is heating up. The leaked documents on Afghanistan dominate the headlines along with Chelsea Clinton’s wedding (?).
The thing that srtikes me the most is the ‘self-made’ nature of much of the punditry and the air time given to such luminaries as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, who appear to dominate the commentary. Still not sure what either of them have really done or what value they offer to the American cultural and political consciousness…
I spent a day with the 16 Air Assault Bridade in Colchester the day before I left for the US and now I am in the largest military town in the US, which carries with it a certain sobriety about the world that confronts us. The 16 Air Assault Brigade will deploy to Afghanistan soon, so the leaked documents could not have come at a worse time. They are classified for a reason and whatever the commentary, I can’t help feeling that their publication puts all forces from the coalition at an addititional and unnecessary risk. The USS Eisenhower has just returned to its base here after six months of service and the town is abuzz with airplanes, helicopters, and warships.
The level of instant access and service is still the same, and the banter with family is refreshing, light, and enjoyable as we spend days together catching up from disparate and busy lives. Live concerts, museums, an aquarium, sailing, horse riding, and time on the beach have made this unbelievably nice.
I return to Washington DC in a month and look forward to assessing the state of the union from its Capital. I will be participating in the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association whose theme this year is ‘politics in hard times’…unemployment is high across the OECD countries, the recovery is sputtering in America, and the Coalition Government in the UK is implementing its ‘new austerity’ policy, the full impact of which no one really knows at this stage.
At times like these, family is so important, and pausing to appreciate the little things in life can bring great comfort. I only hope that many more people are experiencing the same thing, and if not, that they take the time to do so…
Norfolk, VA
