"What is wrong with America?" It wasn't the first time I was asked the question, nor the second, nor the third. The question, or at least a form of the question, arose earlier in the week from strangers while having a Belgian waffle with powdered sugar at a tea room in Brugge, from tourists last month at an adjoining table during lunch at the Brussels Museum of Musical Instruments restaurant, and in October while having a beer and a Ganze knusprige Schweinshaxe in Stuttgart with fellow engineers from the German-owned company which employed me in the U.S. It was just the most recent time. I could have answered as I had many times before, with my pat answer. "I live there, and I ask myself the same question every day. What is wrong with America? I really don't know." That seemed to satisfy most Europeans, who seem to know more about America and its politics than Americans. The pat answer was getting a bit old. So these passengers on the Inner-City Express to Frankfort deserved the truth. "Americans live in fear."
By the shocked faces now before me, I realized that this was not the answer they were expecting nor hoping for. But I was halfway into my second bottle of Dinkel Acker, and it just seemed like the time was appropriate. The U.S. election was over, and the President was re-elected. They do so like Obama in Europe. He seems to understand what America's relationship should be with other countries in the world. So it may seem odd that the question was being asked after he won, but I knew what they really meant. How could only 51 per cent of Americans have voted for Obama when he should have a much higher number? The real question they want to ask, but would not openly say, is: What is wrong with nearly half of all American voters?
Europeans followed the primaries closely and were stunned with the eight people that the Republican Party put forward for President. How could America have actually considered those nutcases? Then, when it came down to Mitt Romney and his foreign bank accounts, his unwillingness to produce tax returns, and his accusation that 47 per cent of Americans were lazy parasites, only an idiot would have voted for him.
So I finished my second beer, and politely accepted the offer of "It's my shout, mate!" as one of the three people I thought were German, or at least European, turned out to be from Hawthorn, South Australia, and we both barracked for the Crows. At least I had when I lived there. But now I was obligated to explain to my fellow train travellers my remark about fear.
"Consider the 47 per cent speech. There was Romney speaking at a wealthy white private residence to a number of wealthy white financial contributors. What would bring fear to that audience? Of course it would be the losing of any of their wealth. And what would cause them to lose their wealth? A non-white President who supports any social program that assists those in need, such as African-Americans, or Hispanic-Americans, or Native Americans. And how are those programs financed? By taxing the wealthy. Yes, they ignore the fact that they and their friends on Wall Street and in the Bush administration caused the massive recession that put those people in need. Did Romney purposefully do this to remind the wealthy white contributors that they are racist? Of course not. Ask each one of them and they will tell you that they are not racist. But they do respond to racist threats when veiled in terms that sound like acceptable political disagreements. Some might say these types of social programs are 'redistribution of income' or 'socialist'. But these are just code words to induce in white people the fear of non-whites, or immigrants, or non-Christians."
"Or take the constant comments by Republicans during the election decrying China's purchasing of U.S Treasury notes. In reality, China has actually reduced the amount of U.S. debt it has owned, and is now about the same as Japan. While the biggest holders of the debt are the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Social Security Trust Fund. So why all the China-bashing? To create fear in the minds of Americans. The Communist Chinese Red Hordes will soon own our country!! Run, scurry, flee!! Fear China!!"
"Now there is fear over immigration reform. Oh MY GOD, it's Amnesty!! They will all be on the dole, and there goes more of my wealth!!"
We still had a long way to go, and I was almost at the end of the Dinkel Acker. But I was on a roll, and had a lot more to tell them.