I Love America

I love America. I really do. I just want to be upfront.

It’s quite uncomfortable to see in black and white, to be honest.

But that’s what I’m feeling right now. This is a different point than my last article (here) where I wrote that we must choose to love the country. I’m not choosing to love America. It has become unavoidable. Irresistible.

I recently finished a four-state vacation in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. And, this, after having made trips earlier this year from my home in New York City to California, New England, other Mid-Atlantic states and the Southeast. Sixteen different states visited all together.

Not even one-third of the country, but I’ve never stepped foot in so many states before. It’s the result of a deliberate effort to immerse myself in the United States and with my fellow Americans as we really exist…not as the media portrays us or as politicians distort us.

Am I simply on a high from a great vacation? Perhaps. But how many of us have recently (or ever) experienced such a high about the United States?…thought of pursuing such a high?…even believed such a high could exist?

I’d been angry and anxious for too long. Far too long. And I’ve seen so many others…TOO many others…write and post about the United States only when they were on a low. I plead guilty to that too.

So…yeah…I’m on a high. And I’m going to write about it here; but I believe it’s a sustainable high for the reasons I’ll share.

Americans

We are such fascinating people living in such an incredible land!

We each march to our own drummer, stubbornly and insistently…but all sorta seeking the same thing. Enjoying the company of family and friends. Having a satisfying meal. Being awed by nature. Having adventure. Feeling safe. Finding comfort. Savoring community. Feeling respected. Feeling empowered.

We are populated by people who are more self-reliant and independently-oriented than anyone else on earth because each of us are descended from people uprooted from distant ancestral lands to live here (voluntarily or forcibly)…or ourselves did so. It takes a unique level/mix of fortitude, optimism, arrogance, independence and even desperation to be removed from the comfort of an old world community to start life anew, without a safety net.

While I firmly believe there are too many figures and institutions exaggerating our differences for their own interests, it’s undeniable that our nation is populated by an astonishing, disparate mix of people and that technology is bringing us closer together — uncomfortably closer together — at an unprecedented pace. Consequently, the many differences that prior generations could ignore, overlook or dimly acknowledge but never really confront (insofar as how they impacted lives or disturbed our sense of the world) must now be grappled with.

Think about the many characteristics that make each of our communities different, perhaps incomprehensibly so. I can think of five — demographics, natural settings, community types, the durations of history and origin stories. Oddly enough, those various traits make me think of a concept tied to the wine trade.

Demographics

Demographics provide a daunting challenge for any society, whether they are intrinsic characteristics (like race, ethnicity and nationality) or extrinsic (like religion, class, wealth, education and talent). The United States arguably confronts these complexities more than any other country.

The very foundations of our country were dependent upon attracting people from across the globe to reinvent themselves through our abundant resources (fabled or otherwise). And it was a notion that industry, with its drive for profits and efficiency in exploiting those resources, was only too happy to promote since a larger labor supply led to more aggregate productivity and cheaper component labor cost.

This dynamic has never really changed, so the stock of American humanity has been forever in flux, more than in any other nation, with different, new groups constantly banging up against each other.

Natural Settings

Our diverse multitude of natural settings assures another dimension of variation between Americans. Arid plateau. Vast fertile plains. Coniferous mountains. Deserts. Arctic tundra. Tropical islands. Subtropical coastlines. Swamplands. River country. Fertile valleys. Rolling hills. Ocean-pounded coastal plains. Tidewaters. Other nations may have this kind of diversity but very few, if any, have it in the immense amount of acreage the United States has (we are the third largest nation in the world after Russia, Canada and China).

Each natural setting is also accompanied by natural dangers: draught, avalanches, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, among others. Nature presents unique challenges which require unique responses on an individual and community level.

How could we expect someone living in the mountains of Wyoming to be anything like someone living on the arduous New England coast? Or someone living on the Great Plains to be like someone living on Southeastern swampland?

Community Types

On top of that, we have so many different types of communities. Densely populated global cities of thousands per square mile. Regional cities. Sprawling cities. Local hubs. Wilderness and farmland dotted with five to ten people per square mile. Major suburbs pulsating between urban energy and rural spirit. Smaller suburbs. Exurbs. Each type presenting its own challenges and frustrations…offering its own rewards and attractions.

Yet our country is even more complicated than that.

Duration of History

In much of the Old World, settlements have existed for hundreds and thousands of years, their histories and advancement evolving in lockstep with neighbors.

Not so in America. The duration of each community’s history is different. Some communities are hundreds of years removed from European settlement…in other words, hundreds of years removed from being considered a frontier outpost, isolated from other similar human communities. New York City (1624). Plymouth (1620). Jamestown (1607). Charleston (1670). St Augustine (1565). Other communities were established just beyond a human lifetime ago. Las Vegas (1905). Jackson Hole (1894). Oklahoma City (1889). Scottsdale (1888). So that individualistic, frontier mentality may be more prominent in some communities than others.

Think about it another way. The community of Las Vegas is only 117 years removed from non-existence. New York City is 398 years removed from non-existence; when it was Las Vegas’ age, the year was 1741. Of course, there are other reasons for difference and there are many factors that operate to make communities similar; but how could they NOT be noticably different because of these vastly different histories?

Origin Story

Moreover, the origin story of each community can be different. Religious outcasts in Utah. Mercantile trade in New York. Maritime traders in New England. Agriculture in the Southeast. Fur trade in the Great Lakes. Manufacturing in Detroit. Coal mining in Pittsburgh. Gold in Alaska. Oil in Oklahoma. Being its own sovereign nation (Texas).

These origin stories become an almost inextricable strand in the DNA of a community and its residents.

Terroir

In the wine world, there is a concept called terroir which refers to how grapes are impacted by the various natural elements of their setting, including temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, soil, elevation, slope, insects, wildlife and fungi. Certain grapes will thrive in certain settings and perish in others. Other grapes will morph into almost unrecognizable versions of themselves in new locations.

Humans, I would contend, are similar to grapes in this regard. As detailed above, Americans exist in a riot of different “terroirs” that lead to a riot of different Americans. This is compounded by our uniquely independent spirit and further compounded by the fact that, while grapes are not mobile and cannot self-select into certain terroirs, Americans are and can…and do.

So we get greater concentrations of the same kinds of people pursuing the same kinds of things in the same kinds of communities. Outdoorsy types in the Rocky Mountains. Ranching in the high plains. Farming in the Midwest. Entertainment in Southern California. Technology in Northern California. Finance in New York. Healthcare in Boston. Music in Nashville. College athletics in the Southeast. Gaming in Vegas. Etc. Etc.

Pressure Cookers & Adaptation

The wonderful fact of the United States is that there is a setting for almost everything. And many of those settings in our vast land are big enough to become pressure cookers of competition and progress. Each of these settings then presents its own challenges, necessitating adaptations and survival mechanisms for the individual and by the community. And with those different adaptations come different outlooks and beliefs and values and perspectives.

Each Community’s Value

The United States needs every single one of those different communities. Just as each species of plant and animal is precious because it contributes something unique and valuable to the planet’s ecosystem, each community is precious because it contributes something unique and special to American society’s ecosystem (or has the unknown potential to do so)…to help us finally conquer the troubles of the past, overcome the challenges of the present and be prepared for the inconceivable problems of the future.

The United States, when you think about it, is a community of communities. So many different communities.

Every community is important (regardless of population, wealth, resources, etc.), but their potential contribution cannot be tapped, much less maximized, unless we strive to preserve open, civil, civic dialogue with each other, which I believe can be assured if we commit to extending to every person and community the three virtues of curiosity, respect and compassion. (For more details about those three virtues, please see my separate article “Truth Through Compassion, Respect & Curiosity”.)

Simplistic?

If you dismiss my position as simplistic, that only reinforces my point. The United States is complicated. Unfathomably complicated. If you read this and cite other opinions or think the subject matter warrants far greater expertise and knowledge and research than I could possibly share here, that — again — only reinforces my point about our country’s complexity and begs the question: if the United States is indeed so very complicated, why do so many of us voice knee-jerk, uncompromising criticisms and opinions, often loudly, when we should spend a whole lot more time seeking to understand such a complicated nation?

We need humility. We need curiosity. We need understanding.

Love

So, I’ll go back to my initial assertion.

I love America.

It really shouldn’t be controversial to say.

Note that the contention here is not that the United States is perfect. It’s not. Far from it. Rather, I simply say that I love our country.

If we only granted love to that which is perfect (or perfect enough), it would be a sad, solitary existence.

There’s no point in reserving our affection for some alternative, flawless country without egregious prior sins. It would be fruitless to long for a land without hypocrisy…or blind spots…or cruelty…or favoritism…or ism’s of any sort. No such place exists given the unavoidably flawed human condition.

Those idealized, enchanted concepts of countries abroad, which tempt our affections are exactly that. Idealized. They overlook the same intractable problems of poverty and unfairness and ignorance and incompetence and selfishness within our borders. Or they overlook the very unique circumstances that make such unimpeachable existence possible only fleetingly.

If I’m wrong and there is such alternative place worthy of love, it would be tragic to not relocate there. We each deserve that: a homeland we can say we love. And, when you consider the millions who have endured (or are enduring) great hardship to uproot and relocate themselves, it’s certainly do-able. (Although, oddly enough, many of those millions are uprooting to the United States).

To contend that the United States does not deserve love because of an election or court ruling or law (or some series of elections or court rulings or laws) renders the affection transactional…not love at all. And, even if it were still love, withholding love because of such developments would remove the powerful motivation and unwavering commitment necessary to bend the nation’s arc back in the desired direction.

Nor can we allow newspaper headlines, cable news coverage, radio shows and social media posts to impact our love of country. Such institutions present a drastically skewed depiction of reality. They are incentivized by circulation, listenership, eyeballs, clicks and advertising dollars to grab our attention…to sensationalize…to take advantage of our human hardwiring to rubberneck. And they have been that way since at least the late 1800s when William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer squared off for readers with their practice of yellow journalism. The news media certainly serves a necessary purpose, but it is not about presenting a broad, sober, accurate, inspired depiction of our complex nation, from the mundane to the transcendent.

Be the Solution

The prevailing narrative about America is that we are a nation torn…divided…polarized. I, in fact, subscribe to the notion, but only insofar as it alludes to a sense that there is more disagreement and unhappiness and difference than we’ve experienced before.

I believe there is more disagreement than ever before because our channels of intercommunication have rapidly gone from the size of a plastic coffee stirrer to a multi-track train tunnel. I believe that the unhappiness we sense has likely always been out there, but is now conveyed much more easily and probably feeds on itself. I believe we are learning more about each other than ever before and, with that, we are seeing that we are all more different than we ever thought.

But if you look closer still, as I’ve been trying, I believe you’ll also see we are also far more similar…far more complicated…far more capable…far more resilient…far stronger…far more impressive…far more inspiring…than we have ever appreciated.

The United States of America. Our beautiful country with so many different types of people, surviving and thriving in so many different communities against so many different, daunting challenges.

I love it.

I love the United States enough to want to learn more. I love it enough to acknowledge there is so much I don’t know and, indeed, there is so much I don’t even know I don’t know.

I love it enough to be committed to staying here. I love it enough to recognize our egregious flaws.

And I love it enough to want to be part of the solutions.

I’ll close with the following words from clergyman and peace activist William Sloane Coffin (1924–2006):

“There are three kinds of patriots, two bad, one good. The bad are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics. Good patriots carry on a lover’s quarrel with their country.”