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The Chiang Mai Perspective 03.03
4 July 2003
Independence: Birth of A NOTION
Well, it's America's birthday again. I think it's a day worth celebrating; not only with fireworks and displays of
America's military might; but also with some reflection. The "shot heard 'round the world" was not just the beginning of
a revolt. It was the beginning of a revolution, a change in how society would be governed, a massive change in the way
people would think about their place in society. The idea that a farmer might have the same rights and obligations
under the law as a governor is an idea that has yet to be fully appreciated in much of the world. But, the idea had its
roots in America, and it has spread. And I think it was a good idea, and worth celebrating.
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In may seem disingenuous for me to be mentioning an American national holiday while I don't live in the U.S. But, in
fact that is the reason that I think that the holiday is worth celebrating - and worth taking a look at. One of the beauties
of the free world is that people can choose to live where it most suits them. For me to choose to live in Asia is no
different than for another American citizen to choose to live in Kentucky, or California, or New Jersey. [I suppose some
people have forfeited their right to live in a suitable place and ended up in Texas :-) ] The essence of America - the
ideas about human equality, and freedoms, and individual rights, and government by the people - have reached far and
wide, and are being adopted by nations all around the world. And, until now, the United States has maintained such
relations with other countries that many other countries allow American citizens to live and work within their boundaries.
Until now, at least......... And so, the root of that culture that makes the free world free is worth celebrating.
"The Perspective" began as an American's perception of life in Thailand. Today, let's turn it around. A few months ago,
View and I travelled to the United States. I had hoped to focus in these pages on View's experiences. I will. But the
surprising thing to me was that I was experiencing the U.S. as a foreigner. Things were quite a bit different from the
time that I lived there, and even very different from the last time that I had visited, which was only two years ago..
[Side note: Not meaning to lose track that this is America's birthday. I have a friend who lives in America, and I believe
he is also celebrating a birthday soon. I believe he is wondering if "40 is fun." There are, amongst the readers of the
CMP, those who have already been 40, and even some who have been there twice. Some have gotten to where they
are by a "comfortable road" (as Mark Twain would say) and some have had a rougher journey. '40' could be twice as
fun as '20' It has a lot to do with how YOU think of it, not much to do with how anyone else thinks, don't you think? Look
at Think Right Now ]
A Brief Synopsis of a Briefer Journey
Excerpted from the manuscript
"Two Weeks to See Sea to Sea and In Between"
with
the author's permission.
I thought View would be more excited about the trip to the USA than me, but she wasn't. I thought View would be
anxious about boarding her first airplane, but if she was I didn't notice. She was a little anxious days before when we
watched some jets streaming above the clouds, and I would remind her that soon we would be up there. She
wondered about jet propulsion and how the thing goes so fast
There were other things she wondered about. I assured her several times that ghosts do not board international flights;
they are not allowed. I also assured her that there was a restroom on the plane, and it really was not outside. And no,
the plane does not make stops enroute to fill with fuel or pick up people, so we never have to worry about losing our
seats.
I thought View would be at the height of curiosity as the plane began to move toward the runway. Previously she had
told me that she absolutely WOULD NOT go on any scary ride at Disneyland, so I thought that her first plane trip might
also be a frightening experience. But she sat next to the window reading a newspaper. And may have continued had I
not pointed out that the plane was moving. The plane taxied and took off without incident, and we watched as
everything below became smaller, until we were above the clouds. That was something, actually, to look at a cloud
face to face and then rise above it, and look down at it. View did enjoy that. Fields of clouds to look at.
The "Harry Potter" movies were very popular in Thailand, and amongst View's favorites. So she was delighted that
"Harry Potter" was one of the movies on our flight. We had brought our own snacks, and we were both watching the
movie, when suddenly the plane encountered turbulence. I looked at View to re-assure her, but she seemed oblivious
to a little turbulence. She was caught up in the movie. Then the plane hit more turbulence and made some major dips
and climbs like it was bouncing over clouds. Again I looked at View. In the movie, Harry Potter and his friend were in a
flying car. View said, "We are going up and down like the car in the movie." That's right, the plane was in synch with
Harry Potter...."
DISCOUNTS
Our first day in Los Angeles, we spent shaking off the jet lag, and taking a walk around Anaheim. We walked along
wide, neat boulevards, lined with hotels and shopping strips. We came up to the area of Disneyland, where, from the
outside, we could see roller coasters and a ferris wheel, and emblems of Mickey Mouse. But View wanted to take
pictures of something more fascinating;...the flowers along the sidewalk, and in manicured gardens before entrances.
There is no lack of plants or flowers in Thailand. But perhaps View is right. No matter that mankind has created so
many machines and erected so many devices, and laid so much concrete for our convenience and amusement; What
nature provides is infinitely more fascinating and beautiful, and in America's cities, more noticeable because of its rarity.
Update from Bangkok: View is adjusting to living in the big city. She is attending classes and doing well. More
adventures and misadventures are yet to be shared.
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After a day in Los Angeles, we drove off to look at America. As we travelled, I couldn't help but notice changes to the
America I had lived in.
The most obvious adjustment was that everything was so expensive. Added to that, there seemed to be less choice in
goods than there had been before. Potato chips were available only in the jumbo size in every supermarket and
convenient store. No family size, or large or medium. There was still a variety of goods to be found, not as many local
products, though, and there was no difference from one store to the next. They all had exactly the same goods and the
same prices.
The very first thing that was noticeable upon stepping off the plane was how much fear had replaced freedom. After a
rather smooth immigration procedure, we were at the baggage carousels. There were authorities rounding up the
people as they might herd cattle. There was such confusion. Lines were formed in two different areas, and then
funnelled to one exit. The passengers were becoming agitated, and the airport workers seemed to have no idea why
the exercise was at all necessary. They "were following orders" I heard one ot them say.. And the one who gave the
orders was nowhere around.
In the airport, there was no longer a postal service. And the one mailbox had been closed shut.
Througout our wanderings in the United States, we saw more and more evidence of how Fear has gripped the country.
Going into an airport meant lengthy waits while baggage was checked and re-checked. And passengers were subject
to lengthy searches, having to remove shoes and belts and jewelry and any tiny piece of metal that may trip the
detection devices.
Such inspections did not stop at the airports. Every attraction had its security. There were long lines at Disneyland, for
example, made longer than before, while each visitor's handbag was checked. At the Statue of Liberty, what looked like
a long wait to get onto a boat, was actually a long wait to go through a harrowing inspection process. The Statue Of Liberty! As we approached the gate, we could hear and see increased
commotion as, again, visitors were herded toward the machines, and told to take out anything metal, take off belts,
shoes, watches, etc., and do it quickly. The sight and the sounds of people standing in long slow lines, then suddenly
being rushed to submit themselves to an inspection, while the guards yelled to give instructions and orders made it
seem more like a prison than a national attraction. Visitors could not even go inside the statue to climb to the crown.
There were similar scenes at just about every place we went; buildings, theaters, even parking lots. I kept telling View
that it didn't used to be like this. There used to be much more freedom.
As we drove across half the country, I spent much time listening to the radio. With the exception of a few Public
Broadcasting stations, all the stations played the same music, limited to a few popular songs that we'd already heard in
Thailand. I listened to talk radio to gain some idea of what people were thinking now. This was in March, when the
leaders were talking about starting a war. For most of the world outside the U.S. this kind of talk was appalling and
incomprehensible. Well, talk radio in America didn't give me much. If anyone was even aware that the world outside of
the U.S. even existed, they didn't show it.
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I used to listen to talk radio to hear different opinions. Seldom, in the past, was there intelligent discussion on the radio,
but there was variety. I had heard, and seen on some internet discussion boards, that the media was dominated by
"liberals" who opposed the war and anything else that this government stood for. For hours and days, as I drove
through six or seven states, I looked for stations and commentators who held this "liberal" viewpoint. I did not find one.
I did find "conservative" commentators cautioning their listeners to not pay attention to the "liberal" media. But I could
not find one commentator who raised questions about the leaders' notions of going to war. Neither would they question
any other policy of the U.S. leaders.
Radio had become a meeting ground of conformists. Conformity is not always so bad, but look at what the people
were conforming to. The radio hosts and their listeners and callers were sponsoring "pro-war" rallies ... parties to
celebrate America going to war...to show blind support for their government in opposing and ignoring the antiwar
sentiment that was going around. Never did anyone really address any of the questions about the war proposal. Never
did any caller even ask a question. To do so would be "unpatriotic."
Television was no different. Whatever we heard on the radio in the daytime, we'd hear it again at night on TV. As an
example, one day I heard a radio talk show in which the host brought up the argument, "All these liberals who are
against the war because they don't want innocent people to be killed;...Why aren't they protesting against Saddam?
He's killing innocent people everyday." . A bit later, I changed the station to listen to another talk show. A caller called in
and asked, "Why don't these liberals protest against Saddam?" to which the host said, "Good point.." On yet another
talk show, two hosts were discussing some anti-war protests. "They should be protesting against Saddam," one of
them said. Then at night, on television, I caught a glimpse of a prominent television evangelist and religious leader
discussing the needs to fight in Iraq. He said, "I can't understand these anti-war people. You never hear them
complaining about Saddam, do you?" (There was never mention, of course, that some humanitarian organizations had
been watching Saddam for years, and had been trying to put a stop to him, and had been trying to render aid to the
poorer segments of that country.)
From what I could see, America had become reduced. Reduced diversity of goods (perhaps because some
companies had closed down?) Reduced freedoms of movement. Reduced diversity of opinion. Even reduced freedom
of opinion: [While we were in America, a man was stopped by security in a shopping mall and forced to leave because
he was wearing a tee shirt that said, "Peace." Around the same time, the radio stations began to ban the music of a
popular singing group because one of the singers had made a comment against the president.]
And reduced information. Hopefully what I heard on the radio and saw on the television is not representative of the
country. But, I began to wonder. If the people hear only what I heard, then they may be unaware of some more things
that are being done to their country. As an example, laws which were made to protect the environment are being
changed, and policy has been changed so that measures and area allocated for preservation of wildlife are being
reduced.
There is more that I have noticed from an outsider's perspective; I tried to impress upon View that this was not the
same as the country where I grew up. Yet, with all that has changed, there were still some long stretches of open road,
and places to stop to enjoy spectacular scenery. And, in most places, people were cordial and friendly; never mind
what the government was doing..
Think For Yourself
THINK RIGHT NOW
We saw the Grand Canyon with snow on its ridges. An amazing, captivating scene. "This", I told myself, "has not
changed." "This," I continued in reflection, "is the real America. Vast and expansive, a place of freedom beyond
compare." "Why," I wondered, "do they want to ruin it all?"
Then it occurred to me: Maybe it's wrong to be anxious or excited about what seems to be happening to America.
Maybe the majority of the people really don't care. Life is not bad, after all. A little less freedom here or there may not
even be felt by most people. A little poorer quality of air and water here and there isn't going to kill us yet. A little less
opportunity, a little lower quality of life for the poor and not-so-wealthy, is it really worth losing sleep over? We still have
it better than many other places in the world.
So the ideas of the forefathers of the United States: ideas of equal rights and opportunities for all human beings, ideas
of individual freedoms, ideas of government by and for the people who are being governed; well they were "liberal"
ideas and the forefathers would probably be ridiculed on talk radio today. It might even be "unpatriotic" to mention such
ideas today. Yet even as the original ideas are being overlooked, as government is becoming more self-serving, and
as freedoms erode before our eyes, there are still a lot of good things to see. We just need to see them instead of
concentrating only on what is wrong.
The ideas of the forefathers were good ones. They are being adopted more and more around the world. That's a good
reason to celebrate. The Grand Canyon, with all that it inspires, is still there. There are still two seas, and many lakes
and a few major rivers. And the creative nature of mankind still flourishes in America, making music and movies, and
building great buildings, and roads to travel on. And there are still flowers by the roadsides. We just need to train our
eyes to notice them.
Happy Birthday to the U.S.A.!
Enjoy freedom wherever you are.
Freedom from those who would control.
And Freedom from the kind of thinking that confines.
Notice the flowers from time to time
That's the Perspective from Hat Yai
Coming Soon!
Tributes to the Greats
Gregory Peck Katherine Hepburn Buddy Hackett
American heroes in their own right.
at View and Review
Past Issues of Chiang Mai Perspective
27 November 2002.....Tribute to JFK
31 March 2003.....It Takes a Fool 2 (Anniversary Issue)
22 June 2003.....Between the Clouds
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