10 June 2004
Bruce Jackson
My American Passport
Most of the conversation during a dinner with friends a few days ago consisted of a long argument over whether George Bush had made our world safer or more dangerous, whether his war on Iraq was prudent or reckless, whether he was bold or lunatic.
It was one of those arguments that old friends who agree on nothing politically manage to have on a regular basis and in pretty much the same way every time: the evening begins with talk about all kinds of things with nearly everyone avoiding politics, which these days is like avoiding awareness of someone two feet away with a huge bleeding wound on his face. Then the wine flows and politics comes in and the arguments begin. There’s a little of yelling, a lot of interrupting, some huffing and puffing and shoulder-shrugging and finger-pointing, and then the dessert comes and everybody calms down and hugs and kisses goodbye and says what a fine time it was. The political positions are authentic, but there’s something surreal about the conversation. It’s almost like going to a movie, where you watch people you don’t know having sex or being blown up and then come back to the street which is exactly as you left it two hours earlier.
Such arguments almost never change anybody’s mind which is why I always vow to stay out of them. I never keep the vow. I always get drawn in saying "Well didn’t you read....." and "How could you say that after the report of the..." and "You can’t possibly believe that the...." As if mere knowledge goes to where those passions reside.
The host, who had voted for Bush last time, is usually fairly quiet during these arguments. He is a naturalized American citizen who came here for his medical residency more than 40 years ago and, save for occasional visits to his family when political conditions permitted, has never gone back. But he has traveled widely, both for his work and to satisfy his passion for climbing remote mountains.
"I will tell you something important that has changed for me in the past two years," he said. He speaks in a soft voice and because he speaks so rarely all of us shouters immediately fell silent and listened.
"As you know, I travel a great deal, sometimes for my work, sometimes for my other interests. After I became an American citizen, one of the pleasures of traveling to those place I go was how happy people were when I showed my American passport. Almost every place I went, when they found out I was an American, they were friendly. They truly liked us. Even in places that had problems with whatever government was in power at the time, they liked Americans.
"But it isn’t like that now. Now, when I travel, I show my passport as little as possible and tell people I’m an American only when I absolutely must. They don’t like us, they don’t trust us, they don’t respect us. I used to feel safe and welcomed being an American. No longer.
"George Bush did that. In two years, he did that. It will take decades to repair that. In my lifetime I may never again see a world where being an American is seen as being a friend. I can’t forgive Bush for taking that away from us. Can you?"
No one said anything.
Copyright 2004 by Buffalo Report, Inc.