June 6 was the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Only a few who actually participated in that momentous event are still around. Just add 80 to their age in 1944 and you understand why. The best guess is that about 4,400 Allied men died on that day alone.
July 4 just passed and we ate a lot, drank a lot and maybe shot off some Roman candles or lit a few sparklers. Thank goodness we leave the “big stuff” incendiaries to the professionals. I don’t think I would like to work in a Chinese fireworks factory.
I mention these two events because we, in theory, should feel patriotic when they come around each year. Where do you fall on the patriotic spectrum? Do you radiate red, white and blue or do symbols of patriotism leave you unmoved?
Just last month, I was in the northeast corner of Italy for 10 days on a mission trip. This was not like going to a third world country. No one who knew I was going felt sorry for me. The city, Trento, is where the Council of Trent was held in the mid 1500’s. It’s worth a Google search if you want a quick dive into church history. Trento has roughly 100,000 people, which is about the size of Hoover, and one Protestant church. There are several Catholic churches, but they are pretty empty on Sunday mornings. In talking to residents and students, we found that people were agnostic, atheists or non-practicing Catholics pretty much in that order. This was not a scientific survey.
We worked most closely with students who were enrolled in post-graduate work at the University of Trento. They know English but want to learn to speak “American English.” In fact, they want to know everything American.
Talking about politics, religion, food, family life etc. came easy to them. These were not all Italians. Many came from other European countries and even the Middle East. My longest conversation was with a 36-year-old from northern Iran. Here are some observations from him and others I spoke with in no specific order of importance.
• They follow our political course, or discourse, closely. They knew who was running on both tickets and the personalities involved. Let me ask you, the reader, do you know who the president of Italy is?
• Along that same line at that time, they wondered then how we ever got two “old men” as our best choices for the most powerful position in the world.
• If they get a chance to come to the USA, their top choices of cities are New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Interestingly, we met one young man who had been an exchange student in Albertville his junior year of high school. He loved the South.
• Some view us as a bit self-absorbed and prideful in a not-so-flattering way.
• We talk too much and too loudly, in their view.
• They still view our country as a land of opportunity, and many would like to live here one day. They see their home countries as stagnating. My Iranian friend falls into this group.
On the long trip back, it occurred to me how much we take our country for granted. Much of the world longs for what we have. Some take arduous trips through jungles and across deserts to be met with the final barrier of barbed wire and high steel walls. I am not taking this as a stand on immigration. It’s just a fact.
Our system of government has flaws, as do our leaders. At 248 years old, we are still a young nation by international standards. Trento had residents 2,500 years ago. We remain an experiment in democracy.
I’ve been a part of this experiment since Eisenhower was president. Failure has been predicted regularly. Morals and ethics have derailed at high political levels by the basket full. I do believe our system self-adjusts and self-regulates for the most part.
Every year someone publishes the “Happiest countries in the world” list. Iceland, Denmark and Norway often make this list. Is it the climate? Is it the leadership? The food? Visit one of these countries and you will see that most of the population looks alike. We tend to get along well with people who look and act like we do. They are not the melting pot America is.
Our diversity is our strength. Contrasting opinions – 338 million of them – may create some friction; however, they also create more options. In America we have lots of options.
Here’s to travel for expanding my view.
I’m still a fan of the red, white and blue.
