The U.S. is making headlines: economic crisis, debt, unemployment. But is the future of the great power nation really that black? As independent, non-residential long-term travellers in the country of fifty states, we were often asked by friends and acquaintances, to give an account of how the Americans themselves perceived the crisis.
For five months we journeyed in this very diverse and complex giant. Too short and too superficial to submit a detailed report. Passers-by often see only one-sided shades of a country. Those who linger get a deeper insight. Nevertheless, we are happy to share our observations with you.
Judging by the vehicles on the roads, the country and its people are doing very well. The latest models shine and sparkle in all colours. On a second look however, the many signs for financial help and fast money catch our attention. Does anybody ever pay for anything in cash, we wonder? Even in the hospital (when we have Desmond’s plaster cast removed) we were granted a 30% discount because we paid the full amount of the treatment immediately – unlike (almost) all others who paid with monthly instalments.
It seems the health care sector is feeling the crisis too and is spreading their services thick with advertising. Dr. Ed, the friendly dentist advertises on the radio with excited children, who can hardly wait for their dental visit (“Mom, we want to go to Dr. Ed!”, they all shout excitedly.), a cancer clinic reassures future patients that all their worries will be taken care of and roadside posters show a smiling man and the slogan: “Prostate Cancer? We can fix you in five days!”Advertising is running almost constantly on the radio, even the news reporter slips a commercial before completing the daily headlines.
A very nice, but somewhat excited senior concludes his monologue with the exciting fact that the Antichrist had been amongst us for quite a while. He had evidence, he tells us. We soon figure that he is talking about a government leader, but we can’t quite determine his political direction.
Anyway, opinions about the good or bad President are strongly divided. President Obama is frequently and publicly criticized and posters and stickers with “Obama sucks” are common, particularly in the south of the country. But also the former president gets some bad publicity. One poster shows a laughing Mr. Bush and next to it: “I have drawn the country into the dirt and you blame the black guy for it!” There seem to be no shyness for public shaming.
And as in every crisis, there is always a winner: McDonalds has long queues of vehicles at the drive-through and queues of people at their counters. Next to them, the Burger Kings are empty.
As passers-by, we met mainly shoppers in supermarkets, sales assistants, homeless people in parking lots, campground managers, retirees and camper travellers, doctors and dentists and people who wash their clothes in public laundries.
We got to know rich people who seem little affected by the crisis, live in beautiful villas with large, green lawns, and poor people who have lost their homes, are jobless or manage to juggle several jobs together.
And then there is the broad middle and the disciplined survivors. We had the privilege to meet a handful of people who have managed to remain positive despite huge wage cuts and life changes and who have made the most out of their difficult situations. They still smile even after having lost their jobs as executive managers of international companies and having been demoted to working as cashiers in supermarkets or assistants in small shops. Even during these hard times, they don’t give up hope and never let go of their dignity. Our admiration belongs to them.
The younger generation probably suffer the most because many of them have never learnt how to tighten their belts. They grew up with the expectation to enter at the level of a manger after leaving school and to move straight into a pretty house.
All in all, the crisis is hardly visible to outsiders. Road conditions are often worse than in Mexico, but at the same time large scale road work is going on everywhere in the country. We drove through areas that are so dilapidated that they made the crumbling of the American Dream visible and on the other hand we passed places so well maintained and neat that they offered delight to the eyes. We honestly cannot judge how the country has changed in recent years.
What we can judge, however, is the warmth of the American people. Many of them have met us with a smile and an outstretched hand. We have got to know some wonderful people and found in them lifelong friends. Jackie, Frank and Sharon who were true angles on our side, Jim, the hairdresser, who presented us with a bag of chocolate pretzels, Rich and his family, who invited us to their camp fire, Carol and John, whose cheerfulness was contagious, Darren, the wonderful man who spontaneously asked us to come to his house, Sue and Don, who spread sunshine, Ryan and Katie, who treated us like family and many other souls who touched us deep inside.
The Native Americans of Utah drew a “circle of friends” on the rocks. It symbolizes the strength of friendship. It is said that the people would sit around a bonfire in the evening, sharing their hearts with their friends and pointing out the good qualities in each other. As the fire turned to ember, their friendships were sealed.
Thank you, dear friends – old and new, that you make our “Circle of Friends” so colourful and that you enlarge it with your kindness and embrace us in your heart.
We travelled in a small camper with our two boys for eight months and hardly ever argued with each other. We laughed a lot and enjoyed it equally as much and were asked again and again: How do you manage in such a small space?
