What It Means to Be an American
Reading Ricochet member Indaba's charming post, "What Does it Mean to be an American?" yesterday, I found myself nodding in agreement with her claim (paraphrasing Ayaan Hirsi Ali) that a foundational part of our makeup is the tendency towards "the people getting on with their lives without looking to the state."
This, it seems to me, is indeed fundamental to our character. It's not so much that Americans hate government, as that they love their fellow man more. And when they feel the need to act on his behalf, they can generally find ways to do so that are smarter, faster, more effective, and less expensive than petitioning an appropriations committee or lobbying for new regulations. It's not necessarily a matter of principle (though, for many of us, it's that too); it's just what a lot of Americans consider common sense and basic human decency.
If you want to read about this phenomenon in action, I'd commend to you the new issue of Reason magazine (it's the August/September issue --I've never really understood how that works). In it, 2012 Phillips Foundation fellow Tate Watkins has a terrific look at the city of Joplin, Missouri -- a town that reacted to a tornado that virtually obliterated it just over a year ago by conducting the rebuilding process in a fashion 180 degrees from post-Katrina New Orleans (I'd link, but the piece isn't available online yet):
... After the tornado, emergency response teams from around the state steamed into town. Four hundred and thirty police, fire, and public works departments helped with search and rescue, cleanup, and debris removal. Doctors and nurses, many of whom worked at one of Joplin's two hospitals or in the medical services sector clustered around them, came from around the four-state area. A handful of warehouses around the city are full to this day with donated material such as tarps, clothing, and food.
Most displaced people found refuge with nearby family or friends; the city estimates that 95 percent of people displaced by the storm stayed within 25 miles of town. "A lot of the residents are staying here," Assistant City Manager Sam Anselm tells me. It's "a testament to the spirit, the way the community responded to this."
The city registered 130,000 volunteers from around the country and estimates that at least that many helped and weren't counted. One even came from Japan and stayed two weeks, citing the way Americans donated to his country after the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. (Someone found the Japanese volunteer a bicycle that he rode 12 miles each day to and from his cleanup site). In October, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rolled into town and built seven homes in seven days. Habitat for Humanity built 10 the next month.
Many of us will probably have a melancholy tinge to our Fourth of July celebrations tomorrow, concerned as we are after last week's Supreme Court decision that the nation is drifting even further from the moorings of 1776. But stories like this are a happy reminder that, while the constitutional order may be under fire, the American spirit remains unbroken.
Happy Fourth of July to the entire Ricochet community -- and also to the good people of Joplin, Missouri.
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Comments:
May '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Thanks for mentioning Joplin, Troy. I grew up a few hours from Joplin and remember well playing several baseball tournaments at a field that I understand no longer exists. Joplin is in southwest Missouri where the people are known for their resilience. A few years ago, a tornado leveled Stockton, Missouri. The city rebuilt and marches on, as Joplin has and will continue to do.
We should all be grateful to have Joplin as an example. The alternative may be seen in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where a mania for hyper-planning and "sustainable" development has foolishly stalled rebuilding efforts after their own brush with an F-5. Let's hope we celebrate future Independence Days in a country that is more Joplin and much, much less Tuscaloosa.
Dec '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Another example, Troy, is the Nashville flood two years ago. We got our act together and went to work as soon as the roads were open. My wife and I had lived here for 4 years prior to the flood and were never sure if we wanted to stay past grad school. After seeing, and being a part of, the way the community handled the flood, our primary goal once I graduate is to find me a job so we can be here permanently. The people around us responded much the same way the folks in Joplin did, and it was amazing to see. I heard a lot of people say things to the effect of, "THIS is how we do it in the South, this is how Americans get a job done. Now hand me a crowbar."
Edited on July 3, 2012 at 8:06pmRe: What It Means to Be an American
das_motorhead: Another example, Troy, is the Nashville flood two years ago. We got our act together and went to work as soon as the roads were open. My wife and I had lived here for 4 years prior to the flood and were never sure if we wanted to stay past grad school. After seeing, and being a part of, the way the community handled the flood, our primary goal once I graduate is to find me a job so we can be here permanently. The people around us responded much the same way the folks in Joplin did, and it was amazing to see. I heard a lot of people say things to the effect of, "THIS is how we do it in the South, this is how Americans get a job done. Now hand me a crowbar." · 6 minutes ago
Edited 2 minutes ago
Absolutely, DM. I used to have a home in Bellevue, and the stories I heard from old friends and neighbors at the time were astonishing. I wrote about exactly what you're describing at the time:
The Silent Flood
Dec '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Troy Senik, Ed.
Absolutely, DM. I used to have a home in Bellevue, and the stories I heard from old friends and neighbors at the time were astonishing. I wrote about exactly what you're describing at the time:
The Silent Flood · 4 minutes ago
Was/is a great post, Troy, as is your post above. In particular, "It's not so much that Americans hate government, as that they love their fellow man more... it's just what a lot of Americans consider common sense and basic human decency." Thanks for the reminder as we go into tomorrow.
As far as the flood is concerned, we live in the Riverwalk neighborhood referenced in the USA Today article. Not a hint of the damage remains, just a lot of "We are Nashville" bumper stickers.
Also, nice to hear you were on the good side of town when Nashville was home.
Apr '11
Re: What It Means to Be an American
When Princess Diana had her fatal crash I was surprised to hear that in Europe "Good Samaritan" laws compel people to help others. In the USA, in most jurisdictions, GS laws provide immunity to the Good Samaritan if their aid doesn't work out. Apparently Minnesota and Vermont have duty-to-assist clauses.
I think that this stems from both a trust that our fellow citizens will do the right thing and an aversion to the idea that a judge sitting in a nice warm courtroom should second-guess the judgement of the man on the scene.
Jun '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
When government takes the hero role away from ordinary citizens--citizens volunteering to help individually or in groups--it steals from them the opportunity for great joy and great satisfaction. The man in need gains, but the giver gains more.
Edited on July 3, 2012 at 10:20pmDec '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Troy Senik, Ed.
Absolutely, DM. I used to have a home in Bellevue, and the stories I heard from old friends and neighbors at the time were astonishing. I wrote about exactly what you're describing at the time:
The Silent Flood
We had a big flood on the Missouri (and all its tributaries) a couple of years back, inundated a great big swath right through the middle of the state.
At the time, the news kept talking about how FEMA had been dispatched and were on the scene and whatnot, but in reality, we had the mess cleaned up and people were already rebuilding their spreads by the time FEMA showed up looking for "flood victims".
FEMA - "We're here to assist the flood victims!"
Nice Old Lady - "Flood Victims? Don't have none of those around here. Would you nice FEMA boys like to have a sit down and some tea?"
FEMA - "Oh. Well. Maybe some other time, ma'am. But if you find any flood victims, have them fill out these forms and send them in."
Nice Old Lady - "Sure thing. You boys have fun now."
Feb '11
Re: What It Means to Be an American
I think the reasons are much more institutional than many on here think.
We have not had Roman law whereas most Europeans have had Roman law.
We have never had royalty even when we were British. The king was across a vast ocean so was no real presence. And when he tried to become one, we cut the cord.
And finally, we have never had the presence of a government official close by for most of our history. A post master was as close as most came into contact with the central government until a hundred years ago.
Apr '12
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Despite the present events like the decision of the Supreme Court, the ideas on which the United States are founded remain an closed universe of ideas which are exceptional, stringent and simply true.
There are no serious alternative to the concept of a natural rights structure which limits every governmental attempt to subordinate the citizens.
Today, I found this citation:
I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.
Letter Jefferson to Madison
The force of attraction of these arguments, clear like rock water, needs no justification: they simply endure to be true. Fortunated to be founded by such ideas.
Jul '10
Re: What It Means to Be an American
Disasters large and small. The response for most Americans is the same. My uncle had a dairy farm in Somerset, PA (yes, 9/11) and if a neighbor's tractor, baler, seeder, etc., wasn't operational, the neighbors would work out a schedule for the equipment to accomodate all of them. A barn burns - as my uncles did? Neighbors corralled and sheltered the animals until they rebuilt his barn. One of the neighbor's commercial chicken farm burned to the ground - now that's a lot of herding - and within 8-10 days, he was back in operation with everything completely rebuilt. That's just how things are done.
Interestingly, the same held true for the memorial for Flight 93. With donations from around the world, a beautiful building and park were constructed. A small chapel that had stood nearby now sits in a garden within the entrance to that large building. Much of the labor was donated by locals.