I went back to the US for the first time in over six years last month. My son Kyle and his fiance Sarah got married in Dallas on October 18 and I added visits to New York, Seattle and Portland to see friends and family. Although six years is a long time, I do have the lifeline of email, phone and occasional visitors to stay current with people...and politics. Kyle and Sarah were here in Casablanca during the 2004 election and I tearfully told them the morning after Kerry's "defeat" (I still think he won Ohio) I wouldn't set foot in the US until January 20, 2009. They convinced me of their October choice with the warning that George Bush would be retired in Dallas in January of 2009. So I went and of course had a wonderful time. I found people more mellow, humbled of course by the battering they were taking from the financial crisis, and galvanized by the possibility that Barack Obama could become the next President of the US. The bad economy is forcing some to come to grips with the consumerism and materialism that seems to have overtaken society, ever since George Bush told people after 9/11 to "go shopping." People are waking up and viewing the carnage to the American psyche of the Bush-Cheney years, the lying, hypocrisy, hubris, pandering and criminal acts, abuses to human rights and the US Constitution, not to mention the sullying of America's reputation in the world. All this may seem clear to me from my corner seat at the bar, looking at the big picture without the distraction of day-to-day coping life in the US is all about now, so I can understand how people may have stopped paying attention. But really! The visit was everything I needed it to be - time to see two elderly loved ones for perhaps the last time, to be with friends recovering from illness, visits with dear friends spanning from kindergarten to our time in Tokyo in the late 80's, spending time with my cousin and seeing my sister for the first time in 9 years. Of course the highlight was the wedding ceremony and sharing Kyle and Sarah's happiness. The fog is lifting, and I saw that happening during my week back home. I've got my fingers crossed for a Re-United States of America. If you've read this far, and haven't yet, VOTE! |
