In terms of following and observing what makes the world’s biggest economy tick, we are truly blessed. From traditional newsprint all the way to new media there are countless thousands whose job it is not to focus on the news of the day in America but on day to day life of American society.
Since the birth of America in the 18th century they have come and gone. For over 200 years they have travelled coast to coast to trawl the country for stories but even now they find new insights into the American mind (or minds depending on your point of view).
So, it is with a heavy heart that two British observers must leave America for fresh postings elsewhere. The BBC’s Justin Webb (whom I rate highly) is leaving his post as North America Editor in America leaving behind the capable Adam Brookes, Matt Frei and Kim Ghattas to man the fort.
Meanwhile The Economist’s eye on America, Lexington, is experiencing a change of guard of its own. While the identity of the weeklie’s various Op-Eds such as Bagehot, Banyan, Buttonwood and Lexington are closely guarded secrets, it has been known that the now ex-Lexington man is “Adrian.”
Justin and, uh, “Adrian” though have followed in that grand tradition of the gentleman observer. People such as the venerable late Alistair Cooke who set a benchmark which will probably never be beatn for the energy and eloquency he brought to the table as well as the sheer wonder of a country that has re-invented itself at least once a decade since its creation.
The columns are interesting because of their large following and the debate they create amongst its readership. Some of it is positive, even if the reader does not quite agree with what the writer is saying. A minority miss the point altogether as they criticise the writer’s point of view but this misses the point of the column. It is simply a person relating America as they see it.
They’re not there to say “this is what is happening, fact” but to say “this has been my experience of America in my time here.” Your choice therefore as reader is to either take it or leave it because it isn’t fact, it isn’t a statement to which you must adhere to but merely an experience.
Another example is the great Alan Whicker of Whickers World fame. He made several programs on America where he passed on his experiences of the country to audiences in the UK and beyond. He emphasised that he was not there to judge or to promote a view. Most recently, Louis Theroux and his Weird Weekends series covers America in much the same way. Whicker and Theroux, despite being produced decades apart, covered similar themes: the changing face of cities (Whicker covered San Francisco and Theroux Philidelphia), homosexuality, religion and racism in America.
Whicker had an interesting time covering the summer of love in his tweed jacket and finely pressed suit but also met militant homosexuals and gay religious ministers. Theroux meanwhile almost got killed by Neo Nazis, looked into secure facilities for muderers and pheadophiles in California and followed the strange world of swinging in America.
Both of these might be a little less serious than the fare that “Adrian”, Cooke and Webb have put out but they are relevant because they deliver an experience of a country that continues to fascinate us in both the positive and the negative sense of the word.
In a world of “opnions” and “final thoughts” where what one man thinks is fact and truth seems to be all important, the message of a man’s experience in a foreign land has been lost. His stories, anecdotes and tales are distorted by a succession of people from across the world telling us what to think about America and its relationship with Europe, the Middle East and China.
This is sad because what is the first thing we discuss with our friends when we come back from a holiday? Our experiences. We don’t debate “facts” and the “truth” behind a foreign land and its people because we know that these “known knowns” will be out of date by the time we return.
And so we turn our attention to who next will be reporting daily American life to us back in the “Old World” with an interest and curiosity that will never die. And long may that remain.
Links referred to in the blog posting:
BBC’s Justin Webb and his blog “Justin Webb’s America”.
The Economist’s Lexington column.
Alistair Cooke’s Letter from America.
