WHICH AMERICA - PART TWO

Below is a post I put up back in October and in light of the recent anti-American insurrection, still hits the nail on the head. It is truer today than it was then. 

Back on November 9, 2016, following the election, I posted the following: "I only have one prayer following this election. My prayer is that down the road, well into Trump's presidency, I am able to say, "I am sorry. You were right; I was wrong" versus "I tried to tell you!"

I tried to tell you! They didn't listen then; they're not listening now. They never will. Re-read below to see why. (A few undated tweaks are in italics.)

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October 10, 2020

I have been doing a lot of thinking about this thing called 'America.'

Growing up, I thought I knew America. Over the past few years, I am not so sure anymore. 

In my early days, I was taught to see America as the proverbial melting pot - a stew of sorts contained in the borders of a pot in which there were many different ingredients, each with a separate identity but contributing to a whole, something that was far greater than the sum of the parts. If one was a true American, little else mattered. 

Today, we still have those who remember, adhere to and fight for the old vision but we also have those who, whether they can admit it or not, want only a straight, white, armed, Christian, male-dominated, country. Anything short of that is not America. There is little in-between. America started off with the former and is struggling today with the latter.

People don't want America - they want their version of America, and if one doesn't fit their model, they are the enemy.

When I arrived in rural New Hampshire, it struck me as Mayberry-ish. I came from a place where debutants had balls (not that kind), females had nose jobs (and boob jobs), and lots of material goods. None of that up in rural NH. You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know.... 

I suspect the section of NH where I ended up was and is tribal. Attitudes of locals was passed down by their parents who learned them from their parents, etc., etc. When I got here, New Hampshire was 99 percent white. Some forty years, it hasn't changed much - I believe latest census estimate (last year) put her at 93.1 percent white. 

The true locals resented outsiders, especially when they brought 'their ways.' I adapted pretty well and was pretty much accepted, but the loud, pushy tourists (the Massholes and the like) ruined it. 

I am going to stop here because this is sounding familiar (I am sure I posted something recently that reflects these thoughts). 

Next time will be something totally different.

Thanks for understanding.