It's strange to me how much more open we are about discussing America's flaws now. As a millennial, I never imagined that talking openly about how "America isn't that great after all" would be so accepted - growing up, it felt like a conversation that would be immediately shut down. But now, it seems like it's finally part of the discussion, which might be exactly what we needed all along. Why has this kind of conversation been so closeted for so long? It seems like so many Americans are now experiencing the same rude awakening you're describing - believing in and hoping for the best only to be faced with the harsh reality of what we're dealing with today. It's a sobering realization, but perhaps it's the beginning of a necessary reckoning. Great read!
Thanks so much for this great essay. Much appreciated. This expresses so well what many of us are thinking. And to Gregory and Cassandra, be careful. Don’t fall into that trap of thinking you are the first generation of US citizens who felt the ability to critique the US. From Thoreau to John Dewey to MLK to James Baldwin to Abbie Hoffman to John Lewis and on…there has always existed - thank goodness - a robust counter culture. Certainly it has ebbed and flowed. It is now time, once again, to join in, to reconnect with that culture. Regardless of where we live. My life is in the Loire Valley and yet my soul is split. I celebrate my life in France, good and bad, and I mourn for what is happening in the US. In doing so, I hope to connect in some small way with that long and distinguished history of protest.
Terrific piece! I have a somewhat similar one lined up for publication tomorrow, and I suspect I am not alone. As Cassandra suggests below (above?), the taboo against criticizing the US has finally been shattered. And we who left long ago are leaping into the breach with our hard-won but probably fruitless wisdom. Oh well. I really enjoyed this essay; thanks for writing it.
I really appreciated this observation. Great essay. I'm all about accepting a thing for its good and bad. Every country has them, some are just older than others and have had more opportunities to fall on their faces and pick themselves up. As an American living in Paris for a year, I can say that there is a LOT I miss about the good 'ole USofA and also, there is a lot to appreciate and mine from being here and seeing how life operates in a socialist world, again, there is "good" and "bad" everywhere. The US will get through this and morph into the next USA. And then we begin again.
It's strange to me how much more open we are about discussing America's flaws now. As a millennial, I never imagined that talking openly about how "America isn't that great after all" would be so accepted - growing up, it felt like a conversation that would be immediately shut down. But now, it seems like it's finally part of the discussion, which might be exactly what we needed all along. Why has this kind of conversation been so closeted for so long? It seems like so many Americans are now experiencing the same rude awakening you're describing - believing in and hoping for the best only to be faced with the harsh reality of what we're dealing with today. It's a sobering realization, but perhaps it's the beginning of a necessary reckoning. Great read!
Thanks so much for this great essay. Much appreciated. This expresses so well what many of us are thinking. And to Gregory and Cassandra, be careful. Don’t fall into that trap of thinking you are the first generation of US citizens who felt the ability to critique the US. From Thoreau to John Dewey to MLK to James Baldwin to Abbie Hoffman to John Lewis and on…there has always existed - thank goodness - a robust counter culture. Certainly it has ebbed and flowed. It is now time, once again, to join in, to reconnect with that culture. Regardless of where we live. My life is in the Loire Valley and yet my soul is split. I celebrate my life in France, good and bad, and I mourn for what is happening in the US. In doing so, I hope to connect in some small way with that long and distinguished history of protest.
Terrific piece! I have a somewhat similar one lined up for publication tomorrow, and I suspect I am not alone. As Cassandra suggests below (above?), the taboo against criticizing the US has finally been shattered. And we who left long ago are leaping into the breach with our hard-won but probably fruitless wisdom. Oh well. I really enjoyed this essay; thanks for writing it.
I really appreciated this observation. Great essay. I'm all about accepting a thing for its good and bad. Every country has them, some are just older than others and have had more opportunities to fall on their faces and pick themselves up. As an American living in Paris for a year, I can say that there is a LOT I miss about the good 'ole USofA and also, there is a lot to appreciate and mine from being here and seeing how life operates in a socialist world, again, there is "good" and "bad" everywhere. The US will get through this and morph into the next USA. And then we begin again.
I sure hope so!