Searching for answers on a trip to California
A Vietnam war veteran salutes as he places American flags at graves ahead of Memorial Day in the Los Angeles National Cemetery on May 29, 2021. Picture: Agustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images
Generally speaking, the thing about the American people is that they are very much like ourselves. They get up in the morning, they go to work, they bring their kids to school, they worry about the cost of living, they engage in their national pastimes and sports - football, basketball, and baseball - and they are as passionate about their stars as we would be about Mayo’s finest. They don’t, as a general rule, force their opinions on other people. They are committed to their church (of multi denominations), to their flag and to their country. I’m told that Texans can be a bit mouthy but sure that is no different to Kerry.
They support the government, or they don’t, depending on whether they are red or blue. It is much the same as here, except of course we have blue and green. Just like us they have Independents, of multiple hues, who try to muddy the political waters but the Independents don’t really get a look in. The Republicans and the Democrats have things wrapped up between them. Remember when you had Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and, now and again, Labour, things were simple. You voted the way your father/mother voted and never gave it another thought. Sometimes you changed the government and other times you retained the status quo.
Life was grand, even if it was wet, dreary and downcast much of the time. There’s probably a major thesis to be written on how much effect the Irish weather has on the mood of the people. In California the sun shines and it makes a difference to the mood. A lot of Angelinos go around in shorts and if they are close to the beach they might go around in bikinis (girls, I hasten to add, tho’ nothing would surprise!) and they might have a surf board under their arm or even one of those awkward hang-glider things that launch surfers into the sky.
As I have mentioned before they have lots and lots of beaches, but I would not be much gone on them. The Pacific is cold. It is quite a big pond and it takes time to heat up. That is not to say that people do not use the waters. No matter what beach or pier you attend there is always a glut of anglers casting their lines and usually with success. The Pacific might be cold but it teems with fish. If you are a keen fisherman you could bring home a dinner of bass, halibut and bonito which, I’m told, is related to our mackerel.
So, you can see Americans are much like ourselves, which begs the question: How come Americans appear always to be fighting wars? They are not a militaristic people. They are not constantly engaged in discussing war (in Iraq/Iran for example) and exhibit few bellicose tendencies. Yet, there is something strange to be seen as you travel. You won’t travel far before you catch sight of a military cemetery with rows upon rows of neat white crosses marking the burial plot of the military men/women killed in a war that the soldiers did not instigate.
Long Beach is a naval port and recognises its military personnel with a variety of events, including a veterans’ banner programme, honouring, with individual banners including photos, men and women, who have fought for Uncle Sam. They have flyovers by historic planes and events to honour 'The Fallen', including those who survived but fell to suicide brought on by post-traumatic stress syndrome.
On street corners you might catch a glimpse of a former military man down on his luck and homeless. They have a homeless problem in LA but homelessness is easier to bear when the sun shines. During the summer the number of homeless (sometimes referred to as the unhoused) increases as nomads flood in from other states to enjoy the sunshine and the more liberal benefits of the state. California supplies more troops to the US military than any other state. Southern California houses more veterans than any other state. They have Veterans’ Hospitals of considerable size and number and they have support organisations to look after the needs of people injured and traumatised by war.
The US military had 4,400 personnel killed and more than 32,000 wounded in the war in Iraq as they searched for those non-existent weapons of mass destruction. But those numbers are a deception. Contractors working for the US Department of Justice who supply back-up supports to the military also lost 4,000 personnel.
It could be suggested that war is an America industry and it does not solely relate to the manufacturers of stealth bombers, missiles, tanks, warplanes, ships, destroyers, troop carriers and drones. It also relates to people - the people who rally to the flag and, in a spirit of national pride and duty, answer the call to arms. This sense of duty and national pride is to be seen in the Super Bowl half-time shenanigans and at the Dodgers Stadium with its emphasis on military heroes and excessive devotion, bordering on fanaticism, to the national interest. The Stars and Stripes forever and no questions asked as to the credentials and credibility of the President who decides to go to war. Not that he will ever appear on the front line.
Perhaps it is the many funerals and the grotesque injuries suffered by the wounded that make Americans feel the need to identify with the war rather than question the rationale for another bout of senseless killings. But that’s a big question and perhaps better left to the politicians who can justify all things.
And so, no matter what they say, it’s great to be back and there’s a lot to catch up on. The lunacy that is the GAA championship continues and Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Kildare, Derry, Cavan, Tyrone, and Louth, all roundly beaten in the competition, are given a reprieve. Such nonsense. At a time when the GAA pretend to be worried about players’ welfare, the footballers of the above counties could well be looking at a holiday in the sun or indeed a return to their clubs where the stress of year-round training, listening to sports psychologists, soaking up data analytics and scoring averages and plain repetitive nonsense from oversized backroom teams would be considerably reduced.
Instead, the elite coddled players are given a week off - if they are lucky - before being returned to the (daily) slog of training, strength conditioning, nutritional performance, balanced carbohydrate and protein intake, psychotherapy and backroom mumbo jumbo at a time when they could be taking it easy and furthering their education or career prospects while at the same time keeping their hand in and their eye on the ball while preparing for club activity.
Andy and management (the real management, not the hangers-on) could do with a break too. They are in a stressful situation, under the spotlight, as losers, seeking to right the sinking ship, explain what went wrong, as if being beaten was not sufficient punishment and answering daft questions about the future. Perhaps even suggestions that they should consider their position. The fact that these are amateur players with jobs to go to in the morning and managers with, perhaps, families to look after, appears to be lost on most people. It is certainly lost on the hurlers on the ditch and of course, the professional administrators who make these demands on players.
As previously mentioned, I was in Los Angeles at Dodgers Stadium, for the opening of the Dodgers’ defence of their world championship title. One of their players, Shohei Ohtani, a professional from Japan and a man who is both a pitcher and a hitter (he uses the bat!) and is regarded as unique in being foremost in both disciplines. In a sense, he is the Kobe of American baseball. Unlike our Kobe he is a real professional. Recently he signed a four-year contract with the Dodgers for a sum of $700,000,000. Yes, that’s seven hundred million dollars and, while the dollar trades at less than the euro, that’s a lot of spondulicks. The thing about the Dodgers’ management is that they value Ohtani and he is used sparingly. If things are looking bleak in a game he might be introduced to rescue a grave situation, but he might also be left on the bench. The Dodgers value players’ welfare.
(The traveller has many stories).
