Finding the Middle: What I learned from a 6,000 miles cross US road trip
I have just finished a 6,000 miles road trip across America. Starting in Naples Florida, my partner, Andrena, and I drove to Atlanta, then Memphis, continuing North along the Mississippi to spend the Fourth of July weekend in Minneapolis. From there, we headed West. Crossing the emptiness of the Badlands, ogled at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, camped in Yellowstone, and finally, exhausted by the heat and the high prices of motels, we escaped to the Oregon coast and made our way south to Berkeley. I have been to the US a few times before, mainly visiting the usual places: New York, Chicago, San Francisco. It was time to fill the space in between: to discover the middle.
The news coming out of the US in the past 5 years has painted a picture of division and conflict. I wanted to witness the land and its people first-hand to glean some insight into the roots of this friction. What I really wished for was to find a reason to be optimistic about the future; to see with my own eyes that there is a way forward. The search took us across many communities, from small settlements like Atlas, Illinois, which comprised of a few houses, to large cities. From the heart of rural America to tension leaden urban centres. After having spoken to men and women from all sides of the political spectrum, I quickly realised that the middle I was hoping to find — the compromise that has the potential to unite the silent majority, the broad centre — either does not exist, or is not well understood. Instead, I heard constant reference to a looming war; a desperation that no peaceful solution is possible.
“A civil war? Here? In the US?” I would ask.
“We cannot see another way forward,” I kept being told.
Driving over the dry, rolling hills of Wyoming, through unseasonable heat waves, we discussed how easily everyone we met had given up the idea of a shared future.
The US is the only country in the world that is based on a dream not linked to an historical connection to a tract of land. The belief that hard work can lead to economic and social advancement established the US as a paragon of justice and freedom in the minds of millions. It captured the imagination of immigrants all over the world. The American Dream was the crucible that melded culturally diverse communities to plant a stake in the new land.
With all its faults and inequalities, this vision persisted for over two centuries.
This is no longer the case. Therein lies the root cause of the conflict we are witnessing. On the one side, the conservative Republican wing decries the death of the American Dream. In their view, its demise is attributed to the increasing diversity of US due to increased immigration of non-English speaking communities. This, in their minds, threatens their traditional way of life due to the penetration of progressive, diversity driven values. This perception, accompanied by increasing religious conservatism, can be seen in the large number of anti-abortion billboards peppering the roads of the Midwest. It can also be seen in the weaponization of Critical Race Theory.
On the other side, the progressive camp has dismissed the American Dream as if it never existed. The fact that some of the fathers of the American Nation were slave owners corrupts any ideas they may have crafted. They see the American Dream as a form of gas lighting. The US and its symbols are mired in a morass of moral decrepitude. All that has been traditionally seen as great national symbols, from the American flag, which we saw fluttering in the heat in nearly every Midwest town we passed, to the Fourth of July celebrations, are nothing but lies and cover ups of a deeply flawed, unjust history. One gets the impression that the proponents of this view believe that all that is American is bad.
The only thing both sides seem to agree on is that the American dream is dead. Given the vastly different reasons provided for its destruction, it is not surprising both camps share such little common ground. But even in its demise, the idea of the American Dream can provide some clues as to its possible resurrection. Most people hold similar aspirations for themselves and for their families and communities. A desire for making a respectable living, for one. Creating opportunities for them and their children to work and study. Having access to good quality healthcare. Being able to express opinions respectfully. The freedom to express an opinion is the real yard stick to determine whether someone belongs to the “sane middle”, or the “muddled extremes”.
Driving for hundreds of miles a day along roads that wove across the vastness of America, I could see how the scale of the country and its diverse communities resulted in the tension between the federal and local governments. It became more and more apparent to me it is important to re-establish a common vision that can unite everyone. The American Dream has been the glue that holds the nation together. Its demise is breaking it apart. The US polity has the obligation to its 330 million citizens to weave a new dream. A dream that is all inclusive, and yet strong enough to ignite the imagination. A dream that unites, not separates. It is easy to be cynical and to dismiss any attempt to construct such a dream. But what is the alternative?
I do not accept that the war people spoke about is the only solution. The biggest limitation we have as humans is not our inability to deliver but the narrow horizons of our imagination, the boundaries we place upon our own vision. Let us craft a new vision, a new American Dream, that will unite and create a country that is stronger into the future in an uncertain world. Let us wish that in a few years, someone else who travels across the United States will hear a different tune. One that contains hope, optimism, and excitement about the future. What other choice is there?