This Is Not America

Warning: this post focuses largely on national identity and politics, and will probably offend someone. If you’re not a liberal, there’s a good chance that someone is you.

Ah, to be American. Overseas. Living the dream, right?

When we moved to Germany two years ago, people wanted to practice their English, talk about their experience visiting the U.S. or their dream to do so, and discuss the things that “everybody knows” about America.

Ever since the election, people want to practice their English to ask questions about U.S. democracy and Trump and racial violence, and confirm the (wrong) things that “everybody knows” about America.

The things that have remained consistent? 1) Many non-Americans have a fascination with most things American, 2) Their view is skewed by the television and news they receive, and 3) Without a similar point of reference, few understand just how vast and diverse the U.S. actually is.

Unfortunately, I think the last two points also apply in varying degrees to Americans themselves. In particular, Trump supporters and the increasingly vocal minority of them that equate “Make America Great Again” with “Make America White, Heterosexual, Male-Dominated, and Christian.”

They have admitted that they don’t read to learn or be challenged, they don’t travel, they don’t have a curiosity about, or feel an obligation to, their fellow human beings across the country or around the globe.

You don’t have to know the world to know how things work. But you do have to know something beyond what people spoon-feed you. I think the greatest disservice we’ve done to ourselves as a nation is believing our own hype, and assuming we are an invaluable gift to the world and other nations have little to offer us. 

But if I asked an American what made us great as a nation--how others might perceive what we've done for the planet--some of the following might not pop first to mind:

Consumerism

Judging by Domino's Pizza takeover of a German pizza chain last year, the glut of American fast food giants and clothing brands, and the eagerness to label something "American" or "American-style," there’s definitely a Yankee invasion afoot. 

The other day I shopped at Patagonia, then came home to read that Five Guys was branching out into Germany. The supply is clearly meeting some sort of demand.

This is one of several Munich shops I've seen
that advertises "American-style nails."

Pizza places have a variety of location-inspired themes for their

toppings. Usually there's a couple of American states or major cities

on the menu; this one is oddly Florida-specific. And most of them have

some version of the "American" pizza, which has onions, pepperoni,

and sometimes mushrooms, but always corn!

Entertainment

Not surprisingly, American books, music, television, and movies are everywhere. The demand for American shows has contributed enormously to the German dubbing industry, and the prevalence of German rap is unfortunately high. 

The influence extends to the stage as well. Last week we saw a performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance, and posters advertising upcoming theater productions of Grease, Rocky Horror, Sister Act, and Porgy & Bess (!).

Star Wars iconography is so universal
it's now graffiti

Culture

If you listen long enough, you’ll hear English sprinkled throughout many German conversations. Much of it is American slang. The rest of it proves that f@%& is used way too often in our media, or suggests Germans are learning English from New Yorkers. 😉

In a post in my previous blog I bid a fond adieu to San Francisco hipsters, only to find a German version here in Munich. Sigh.

On the plus side, I have seen an evolution in interactions in the service industry. While everyone online warns about the cold demeanor of unfriendly German staff, I’ve encountered much more of the American “service with a smile” mentality. I think a lot of it has to do with interactions with other cultures, too. I’ve been surprised by Germans who hug upon meeting you, and that’s one quirk that makes me feel closer to home.

The F Word

While "Freedom" would be at the top of my list, as demonstrated by the Black Lives Matter and Women Marches and anti-neo-Nazi demonstrations here in Europe, the F word I'm talking about is Fear. 

This was on display for several months in an eyeglass shop
on one of the busiest streets in Munich

This is particularly palpable here, where people see dangerous signs that the U.S. is marching down the same road Germany traveled leading up to World War II.

There have been a few recent instances of tourists being arrested for making a Hitler salute in public, which is illegal in Germany. Given the devastating history of Nazis here, it's understandable. On the other hand, legislating behavior doesn't change beliefs.

As hurtful as it can sometimes be, one of the great things about America is that you have broad freedom to express yourself. 

Our political system may be crap, but it’s ours and we can say so. The attempts to overturn a life-saving healthcare system may be crap, but they’re our party-blind agendas and we can say so. Our educational system may be underwhelming and overpriced, but it’s ours and we can say so. When we're afraid that we're heading to a dark place in our history, we can say so. But that also means everyone is listening, and they don't always have context.

I love my country. It has its failings, but it’s a target of both praise and criticism because for so many people it is the epitome of turning dreams and hard work and big risk into big rewards. 

O'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave

It’s something I try to remember when people tell me everyone in America is fat and lazy (why, thank you) or is bigoted or owns a gun or is in a gang or lives in a mansion, etc. 

Yes, Trump is a buffoon of unimaginable value to those who have been dying to puncture our American-flag-bearing balloon. He’s the perfect example of American excess and puffery. 

But he is not the hundreds of millions of normal people living normal lives away from the overblown pageantry that is constantly parading across TV screens and social media.

So, while I’m here, away from my country and seeing it through other people’s eyes, I have come to appreciate it more, flaws and all.

It’s a good lesson in practicing patience and maintaining humor. It’s a good lesson in tempering pride with humility. And it’s a good lesson in reserving judgment—not assuming you know an entire nation of people based on your limited, biased exposure.

It's that final lesson we could all use a bit more of. The ignorance and fear of our current Administration is feeding insecurities around the globe. It would be a shame for our lasting American legacy to be aggressive posturing in the face of other nations, and mindless persecution of peoples that some consider to be different. That's in direct opposition to why our country was founded in the first place.

Sadly, it makes the impressions that come from endless snack food, overdubbed reality shows, and cheesy "American-style" shops and diners seem not so bad...