Hard to Focus Locally When the Action is Global
I have thrown away
several attempts at today's column, being
distracted by the ominous 8 pm passing of the Bush deadline for
Saddam to get out of town. It is difficult to focus on our local
economy when the events that will shape our destiny are unfolding on
television right in front of us.
Our
developing visions of a global economy may be about to come crashing
down. The return of isolationism appears to be inevitable, with the
ignorance and prejudice shown by vocal and often vicious attacks on
foreign citizens and businesses.
I
can't help but think back to when I saw my first "Ami go Home!"
slogan painted on a bridge near Trier, Germany. We were the rich GIs
then, when my $155 a month was significantly more than the
average German wage earner brought home. We
took it as jealousy, a typical attitude of the
"ugly Americans." The Europeans, in general, did not
support that feeling, however. I should know, I married a German
girl and I lived there for more than five years. The few that wrote
the slogans, however, got all the press.
That
was the height of the DeGaulle power years, when the French were
instructed to not speak English. Our honeymoon in France lasted only
a day, as we abruptly changed plans and headed for Switzerland.
A German and an American in France, the worst possible
combination. Did that stop us from buying
Michelin radial tires? No, they were the best tires
available. American-made bias-ply tires were
abominable, and today they are only found on museum pieces for
authenticity.
I
brought a VW 1500S notch-back sedan from Germany when I returned,
shipping it myself from Antwerp. and picking it up at the old P&O
docks in Miami. It had a set of the brand-new Dunlop CB57 "dog
biscuit" radials that attracted attention until they finally
wore out. I drove it off the dock with only a minimum of paperwork
from the lone customs officer on duty.
Times
change so drastically that America has just spent $50 million in the
time it has taken me to write these few paragraphs. The first air
strike against Iraq has taken place while I typed. We watch
television and listen as networks and reporters beg for our
attention. As unlikely as it seems, we watch live television
broadcasts from the target city of our enemy!
We can
only pray that sometime in the future, Iraqis and Americans will
share the ideals and beliefs that the once deadly opponents of only a
generation ago have realized bonds them more than separates them. My
daughter has photos of both her grandfathers in uniform, fighting in
the same war. One, in the U.S. 5th Army. 178th Field Artillery
Battalion while in Sicily, the other sitting at his typewriter in his
Wehrmacht uniform in Kiev, Russia.
Anyone
who thinks peace and prosperity between former enemies is beyond the
realm of possibility has not bothered to learn from history.
Hopefully, as Americans. we will again learn to trust and understand
our neighbors. We cannot live here alone. The planet is just too
small.
George
Mindling
©
2003
