That’s what July 4th is here in Vienna.
No fireworks. No
parades. No BBQs. And certainly no day off of work.
Being out of the country for Independence Day gave me an
opportunity to think about what it means from a different perspective. I also had the chance to discuss some of
those thoughts with friends over a cold beverage in the bar after work,
accompanied by some live jazz, which was great.
So a few thoughts: (1) We like to fight. We earned our independence through a war, and
we continue to place men and women in the line of fire to defend the freedoms
and opportunities that we enjoy back home.
That’s neither a positive nor a negative – I have far too much respect
and gratitude for those who serve to use this as a platform for any kind of
political statement or debate. It’s just
interesting compared to some of the other voices at my table last night. Canada earned its pseudo-independence by
asking nicely. Great Britain is still
essentially overseen by the Crown, even if the legislature is managed by
Parliament. Japan, like the UK, has
actually seen its holdings shrink over time.
I don’t know where I’m going with this.
Let’s pivot to…
(2) Our reputation precedes us. The international perception of Americans as
overweight, obnoxious, inconsiderate, and generally boorish tourists or
politicians who expect everything they want has been around for some time. I suppose a lot of different perceptions of
Americans have been around for some time.
But at least here, the reputation of Americans seems to be in good
standing at least in part because so many people recognize that we are so
diverse. It’s genuinely difficult to
stereotype an American. Most Canadians
are very polite. Most Brits are proper. Most Japanese are very respectful. Most Australians like to drink. Most Americans … what? There are so many of us, and there are so
many differences between different communities and regions, that it’s nearly
impossible to put us all into one bin. That
diversity is part of what makes our shared national heritage so unique, and I
think it helps our standing internationally when people recognize that.
I think I’ve got nowhere else to go with that line of
thinking so I’ll pivot once more. Being out
of the country for July 4th was … interesting. Not because I have a long history or
tradition of spending it with family, or going out with friends … but because
even as options those weren’t on the table at all. It really was just another day. While we sometimes look at the 4th
as a day off work or a chance to cookout, it made me feel strange when everyone
around me didn’t really distinguish the day as special somehow. Because it is special; it is important. The historical connotation is almost second
to ID4 as part of our national identity, and not having that readily and
unmistakably identified by here felt odd.
The people who did identify it as the 4th and me as American
looked at it more like a curiosity: “So, what do you do on 4 July? Why?”
I’m all for learning about other cultures and sharing mine – that’s been
one of the many fun things about living overseas – but think about that for a
moment: something that we grow up learning about as kids and celebrating or
recognizing every year, and someone walks up to you and asks “So what’s this
all about?”
I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
Look, I appreciate it if anyone actually read this far. This wasn’t originally intended as a stream
of consciousness type of entry, but it has certainly turned into one and the
stream isn’t going anywhere fast. I
think the best thing to do is to cut it off before it wastes more of anyone’s
day. We’ll just chalk this post up to “needs
more practice” or something like that, okay?
More travels and adventures are on the horizon, and that
means more pictures. Yay for shiny things.
