Kaleidoscope that is America

By the time this column appears, we will be heading back home to Sri Lanka from being away for a month in the west of USA. For the likes of us, who no longer think or experience America, with visits to Disneyland, Hollywood, Las Vegas or Reno, this amazing country presents a kaleidoscope of varied levels of achievement and failure. Last week my column, also written from here, focused on the current economic crisis and film maker Michael Moore's exploration of the dents in the greed driven 'free' market capitalist system, which drives this country's economy and the body polity.

Excesses and opulence

The contrasts are many and varied in the land of 'plenty and the brave' as it is often called. Where else but in the US, would it have been possible to even imagine a fete the like of the election of President Obama. It proved that this was indeed the land of opportunity beyond land grabs from the natives, slavery, cowboy bandits and the gold digging of the yore, where talent and hard work is recognized and rewarded notwithstanding the inequalities and issues.

One observes the excesses and the opulence in the lifestyles of the rich and the upper-middle classes. Portions served in restaurants are usually huge. Fast food and frozen dinners are still reigning. Glittering Department stores and supermarkets are filled with many of the same, with variations and brand-name presentations. It leaves a thinking person wondering, if all that was necessary to fulfil human needs. Most markets feature special "organic food" sections with higher price tags, making it more of a fad than being a mainstream lifestyle practice. All of this act as a grim reminder that this nation is yet to sign in, on a global protocol for action on climate change.

Rediscovery

On the softer side, we experienced the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon which spans most of the year, heritage towns the likes of Jacksonville in Oregon and Sonoma in California, the cosy university town of Berkeley which is home to the most intensive concentration of PhD's in the world, the vineyards of Napa valley and the museums and theatres of San Francisco which stand testimony to America's diversity of facets. We even made the happy re-discovery of the store in the tourist site of Sonoma, where Sri Lanka's elephant dung paper was given pride of place on its shelves and display windows.

Oblivious to realities

As we travelled on the Amtrak trains and the Greyhound buses, we realized that it was not the mainstream mode of transport for most Americans except for students, elderly and the poor. Most Americans own cars and chose to drive them all the time. Often, each member in a working household had their own car. The fast track lanes on freeways designed to encourage less usage of cars by providing those with more than three passengers faster access, we observed had lesser vehicles plying on them. When these lanes were first introduced during the energy crisis of the 1970's, the situation was very different. With time, it seems that Americans have returned to their very same ways of doing things. Except for a more enlightened minority, the majority seems oblivious to the global realities of poverty, water and food crisis and impacts of global warming.

Television has over 300 channels and most of the programing is designed to provide choice to varied audiences. Most of it reinforced the very same values that drives the unregulated free market economy that Michael Moore was critical of, in his movie Capitalism, a love story. We did meet American's who defied the dominant cultural beliefs and opted to watch very little or no TV or visit department stores for their shopping. They chose to read, visit the library or the bookstore, and make most of their own food in their gardens or farms. We were particularly impressed by an elementary school teacher we met, who kept five goats in a leased area in someone else's farm and visited them each day after work, to care for them and milk them. We also met a now retired couple, who were ex-Peace Corp volunteers in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka in the 1960's, leading productive and active lives, helping people seek alternative energy solutions to help mitigate global warming.

Impressive facilities

Facilities for the aged and the disabled in the US are most impressive. The specially designed disabled vehicles, the disabled friendly pavements, talking traffic lights for the blind, and the lifts on public transport were but a few of these facilities. Some of the retired elderly we met were very independent and made contributions to the society at large using their experience and skills. We also observed how some helpless aged had very little attention from their families and how others volunteered to help them spending time with them, whenever they could.

Homeless and needy

Signs such as 'One in every eight Americans have to fight for their food', 'There are more than 2,100 listed homeless shelters, that need your help' and 'Support the Afghan war' are seen on city walls competing with the more glitzy digital adverts on large bill boards. Hundreds of thousands are said to be homeless all over the US in the aftermath of the financial crisis and reports of tented areas in major cities where they live were seen in the newspapers. The debate on the need for healthcare facilities for millions of low income Americans was potent and President Obama was making a strong call for enabling new legislation to change the current status on this issue.

New hope

With all its follies and dichotomies, the US remains a land of opportunity. The current administration's call for 'Change Americans can believe in' provides new hope not only for this nation but for all of Planet Earth.

As we complete our journey in this land to return home, our hopes are renewed that we can see an America that is more sensitive to issues that face the world at large.