First of all, this is an intensely patriotic country, and I'm not just talking about all the Stars and Stripes flags that hang outside people's houses, and there are plenty of those all the year round. Bering patriotic also means being appreciative. Forgive me if I've become American-biased, but I don't think there's any real sense of American-style patriotism in the UK, and with those Scots hankering after independence, Britain's national identity, patriotic or otherwise, is going to become even more blurred.
Here in Washington, the city is full of guys and gals in military uniform who walk the streets, sit in the Metro and generally display their medals and their badges with pride. As a result, especially when the city is stuffed with tourists from across the US of A, the military get a lot of attention, the commonest of which is the following: A large lady in tight shorts and screaming t-shirt spots a military type sitting reading his IPad on the Metro and goes up to him. "Excuse me, I'm from North Dakota, I just want to thank you for your service." The uniformed bloke thanks her for her appreciation and everyone in the Metro smiles. Even the Brit military out here, working at the embassy or at the Pentagon, walk around in their uniforms. I saw one the other day, an occifer, a lieutenant colonel I think, striding very fast through Farragut Square, not far from my office, I suspect he was striding, rather than ambulating, because he couldn't quite believe he was appearing in public in his uniform, or maybe he was trying to avoid all the large ladies in tight short shorts just desperate to shake his hand. A gushing "thank you for your service" makes a Brit chap somewhat uncomfortable I suspect. Either that or he was genuinely late for his appointment. He looked SOOOO British, made me feel quite homesick. Anyways, the military in the US are properly appreciated and honoured and wowed by the general public. At the fireworks display on July 4th up in town, I was exhausted in the heat and lay down on the grass before the fireworks started, until the band nearby struck up with the National Anthem and I realised that everyone was standing up, the men with their right hands pressed to their hearts. Oops! I stood up and furtively placed my right hand across my chest. I know I'm not American , but it sort of gets to you. We were also with American friends and I didn't want them to think I was being disrespectful.
Language: well it's not just the different "English" words and the jarring pronunciations, it's the whole thing about conversations between strangers which I have alluded to before in previous missives from the US of A. For example, last week on my bus from King Street Metro station, a very large white lady in her 40s/50s, a black dude with gold earings, gold chain and fancy casual attire, me and the bus driver, a black guy with a slow drawl of a voice, very friendly smile, sitting quietly. The woman then moved up a few seats and addressed us, asking if the bus went as far as Madison Avenue which it didn't.
"I'm coming back from there later this evening and I don't want to walk on my own," she said.
"What's cher problm, lady?" black dude said.
"Not a nice area."
"Ain't no sumbitch gonna take you on, lady."
She didn't know whether to take this as a compliment or an insult.
I watched the Wimbledon final but instead of nice but dim Tim Henman commenting, it was Supermac, John McEnroe. His pronunciations were terrible. He referred to Andy Murray as Murry as in furry, and made frequent reference to some bloke called Joke-e-vich, reminding me that the Americans say Kosovo with a long 'o', as in mauve, although of course they say mov, not mauve, if you follow.
As for restaurants, when you're three quarters the way through your meal, a waiter will often come up to your table and ask: "Are you still working on it?" What does that mean?
Politics: well I know politics in UK is going through a difficult patch, the coalition becoming increasingly disjointed, but the US of A is a superpower, and it beggars belief that the Most Powerful Man in the World is as helpless as Nick Clegg. He can't improve the economy, he can't create jobs, he can't beat the Taleban, he can't stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons - all because power doesn't mean what it used to any more. Everything Obama tries to do is thwarted by the opposition in Congress, and his attempts to be nice to everyone abroad have fallen on stony paths. George W Bush went around bashing everyone and invading, and failed, Obama has tried the opposite and has failed. Mitt Romney who I reckon will be the next President of the US of A - no one else seems to think this by the way - will have to find a third way.
So there we are, political chaos reigns on both sides of the Atlantic. But at least we don't have rain every day over here.
