I was re-reading bits of Blues people by LeRoi Jones (now Amiri Baraka) and was really struck by this:
But one of the most persistent traits of the Western white man has always been his fanatical and almost instinctive assumption that his systems and ideas about the world are the most desirable, and further, that people who do not aspire to them, or at least think them admirable, are savages or enemies. The idea that Western thought might be exotic if viewed from another landscape never presents itself to most Westerners.
These words were first published in 1963, but they are remarkably relevant to our current situation. Just as many Americans simply couldn’t fathom why Native Americans didn’t want to rush to become farmers, we remain officially baffled by the idea that not everyone on the planet doesn’t leap to embrace free market capitalism, democracy (“Fresh from Florida – Just like Mom used to make!”), and a secular (or at least Judeo-Christian) culture.
While this plays itself out most dramatically in the halls of power, it’s also visible in the small ways door-to-door. My lovely wife has lived in the States since we got married in 1989. She has permanent resident status, and can live and work in the U.S. to the end of her days. But she has chosen to not become a citizen of the United States of America. When she wakes up in the morning, she doesn’t think of herself as an American; she thinks of herself as a British person living (quite happily) in America. She chooses to have her official status reflect these feelings, so the passport in her drawer is from the UK, not the US.
What’s amazing is how many well meaning people are surprised, often baffled, by this decision. Surely you want to become an American! Doesn’t everyone on the planet want to become an American?!?
‘Fraid not.
Lots of people are quite happy where they are, and many (whether they’re happy with their lot or not) actively don’t want to “be just like us”. And these aren’t just extremists (at home or abroad). The vast majority are regular folks who, for various and sundry reasons, see our attitudes and way of life “exotic” (to use Jones’ phrase) rather than desirable or even admirable.
As this year’s election frenzy comes to an end, and various folks try to paint people as “other”, remember that we may well be just as strange and frightening to them.
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