It's a well known fact that taking a few steps (or a few thousand miles) back certainly changes the view. I'm going on about four years now of living outside of the place I call home, the land of the free and the home of the brave. (And the Danzer Lee light, as I used to think it was called. Come on, admit it, you also got some lyrics wrong at some point in your childhood. Or adulthood. Maybe not of the national anthem, but, it's happened to you too. We can laugh about it.)
Yes, stepping away means that things that were previously an accepted part of the scenery can metamorphasize into glaring, ugly flaws... or strange phenomenons... or quirks. Or sometimes, they cocoon into beauty that would have never been appreciated in quite the same way without that added perspective.
Take for example, the CNN program being aired currently that has spent countless hours dissecting someone else's tragedy and reducing it to a soap opera, fueled further by the 21st century's modern reincarnation of the tabloid (AKA the facebook news stream which hurls opinions left and right). Followed by the latest in the US political drama, featuring a recording from a senator who has publicly called the president a liar. This whole public spectacle over the budget, being witnessed by the rest of the world, has been interesting (scary?) to watch from an outside angle. Yet the grand finale on this program was this: an interview with Hugh Hefner on being jilted at the alter, rounded out with a few questions (of course!?) on his opinion on the trial and the political budget debate.
I'm not commenting on what is right or wrong. And I absolutely value free speech. I'm just trying to draw a contrast here. I'm putting out there the fact that not all countries publicize and dramatize their trials, and I'd fall off my chair if I were to scan facebook over my morning coffee only to find some of their constituents using facebook as an opinion forum at all, much less as an opinion forum to spout views on such a sad situation of which they didn't have the benefit of witnessing first hand or personally hearing a balanced, undramatized recount of the facts. Not all countries' news programs routinely interview random celebrities such as an icon of the sex industry on serious political matters such as the budget crisis.
In summary, while I may not always agree with criticism of America, after now having seen it from the outside in for so many years, I usually don't struggle for long to understand it. And it has been my experience on anything in life that some midpoint between each end of the spectrum is usually the best place to land.
Yet America is America, I love it for exactly what it is, and it will always be where I came from and the place I still think of as home. And I have to admit: some of the many simple things that brought a smile to my face while I was back visiting over the past two weeks.... well, they were almost foreign to me. Actually, it wasn't so much things... as it was the nature of the people. A sample:
The lady in the elevator in downtown Chicago who I hadn't even bothered to make eye contact with: upon departing at her floor, she turned and said to me ''Have a good day."
The attorney in Chicago whom I'd never met before, yet spent a half hour notarizing documents for me on a few hours' notice: he not only refused to accept any compensation but also gave me his card with his cell phone number in case anything needed to be modified over the weekend before I left the country again.
The doctor in Chicago whom I'd also never met before and also agreed to see me on a few hours' notice: he gave me free samples and a massive discount as a self-pay customer, and then took a few minutes out of his day to sit and chat to me about Missouri and my travels.
Old friends in the Midwest I've known for years: they give you the keys to their homes, pick you up from the airport, tell you to make yourself at home, and most importantly, love you unconditionally no matter what you've been through over the past few years. Okay, there are a few more of you... in London, and Australia. But let's be honest: you don't grow friends like that overnight.
Nieces and nephews that make your heart melt: I still would like to know which person in my family bribed my 2.5 year old niece to whisper to me as she was patting my head, ''I love you, you're my best friend.''
That alone might be enough to bring me back to America.
Thanks to everyone who reminded me that home will always be home, no matter how far and how long I roam.
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