THE LONGEST ROAD IN PAPERBACK
With the paperback of The Longest Road launched today (May 13), it seems a good time for a little reflection.
I’ve been thinking a lot about two questions I put to the eighty-odd people I interviewed on the trip: “What holds a country as vast and diverse as the United States together? What puts the unum in the pluribus?” And, “Do you think it’s holding together as well as it used to? Will it continue to?”
The answers were as many and varied as the people I asked. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, if you care to give them.
Recently, I came across what purports to be an ancient Chinese proverb: A kingdom divided must unite; a kingdom united must divide.
There are powerful centrifugal forces at work in the world, ripping nations and societies apart. Syria and the Ukraine are two extreme examples. Could this contagion spread to the United States? I wonder if the stand off Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters staged with federal agents executing a legitimate order was a freak occurrence or a preview of coming attractions.
I’ve been thinking a lot about two questions I put to the eighty-odd people I interviewed on the trip: “What holds a country as vast and diverse as the United States together? What puts the unum in the pluribus?” And, “Do you think it’s holding together as well as it used to? Will it continue to?”
The answers were as many and varied as the people I asked. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, if you care to give them.
Recently, I came across what purports to be an ancient Chinese proverb: A kingdom divided must unite; a kingdom united must divide.
There are powerful centrifugal forces at work in the world, ripping nations and societies apart. Syria and the Ukraine are two extreme examples. Could this contagion spread to the United States? I wonder if the stand off Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters staged with federal agents executing a legitimate order was a freak occurrence or a preview of coming attractions.
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I certainly agree that there is an over-abundance of fear in the country. It's what led to the excesses of the NSA and other agencies in conducting what amounts to surveillance of every citizen in the U.S. The divisiveness in the country is caused mostly by the ideological passions of the elites -- in the think tanks, the editorial rooms, and in the political back rooms. The average American (admittedly a vague term) was represented by the people I met on my road trip: more reasonable and sensible than the politicians they elect. Unfortunately, they don't have the power they once did: much of it has been ceded to lobbyists, large corporations, and the sliver of the population that controls most of its wealth.
Agreed. However our elites and elected officials are supposed to be more directed than the people, as they are the ones putting the tasks forward...but it doesn't always work out positively for us, and can in fact augment more problems on top of what we want solved. And there has always been a dark side to the decisions made by the elites and politicians behind the curtains. Commodus would bludgeon his wounded soldiers to death for sport. Stalin purged. The US helped Iraq gas the Iranians. It's seemingly endless and inevitable. Perhaps humans are hardwired to live this way, or perhaps it's simply a natural factor in existence, a sort of balance and order sort of thing. But ironically, I don't think the leaders, 1%ers or power elites in the US have driven us to display behavior worse than what we've seen in history, I think beyond all the ugliness in our nation and across the world is simply still part of the storm of human existence that is very slowly coming to a calm with time. Back to your original task though, I think you still found what's good and pure about the people of the United States. Hopefully the sensibility you mentioned will remain through it all! Thanks for your discussion Mr. Caputo, I definitely need to read The Longest Road soon.
But either way, I'm only 25 and have experienced only a glimpse of what the United States really is, in its history and the people. I think we represent what a free and open society really is, and I think we really are the greatest country on earth. What holds us together is simply the invisible force, the neutral element that hangs right in front of all of us - give a man freedom and he will make do. However I also think fear is in an overabundance in this country across the spectrum and this hinders us greatly from what we really can achieve. WWII, the Cold War, the space/nuke race, socialism vs capitalism, we have consistently been afraid of the end of our beautiful country and the world for a century.
On a side note, I recently discovered you as an author from reading through some war memoirs while attempting to write my own. I did two tours as a grunt in the Marines in OEF. The theme behind mine is a little different from yours (and I'm certainly not comparing here), but I find your style of writing very honest, descriptive and appealing. I've only recently returned home and am excited to read more of your works.
S/F
Brian