Thanks so much for this, Sarah. As a retired wildlife biologist (but one never retires from being a naturalist), I am too prone to be discouraged by the environmental degradation I see around me. Both here in Appalachia, and on my travels. But then I remember that our National Park system is one of the most admired in the world. Few countries have done so well. And if I don't like something, I have the freedom to say so, with little danger of reprisal. Indeed, we have much for which to be thankful.
'Wajahat, you can go to Canada maybe, and some parts of Europe, but that’s it.'
Damn there's some real Aussie and Kiwi-erasure.
For real though I blame lack of history knowledge, specifically medieval-and-earlier history and the history of any country that isn't America or Europe. For those of us blessed to be born near the turn of the 21st century, especially those of us lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of western civilization, there is nothing that a good history education teaches more than gratitude.
This is a bit of a tangent, but your last paragraph got me thinking about how historically speaking, extreme class/wealth inequality between the haves and the have-nots always tends to create a fair amount of cognitive dissonance in the haves; I think half of what drives wokeness is what you aptly called "the charade releasing [elites] from the burden imposed by reality: the guilt of having so much, while others have so little." The other half is the sense of moral superiority that comes with being a card-carrying "ally" to those poor marginalized Google employees earning $300k/year.
In earlier times, the nobility/landed gentry of Europe loved waxing poetic about why they were so superior to the peasants, and therefore deserved to be throwing feasts as most of the country starved. In Victorian times it was about being enlightened/sophisticated compared to the simple commoners, and in the Antebellum South, it was southern courtesy/etiquette that made plantation owners so superior to the rough-around-the-edges slave class.
Nowadays, elites either self-identify their way into being 'marginalized' (e.g. most people who self-ID as "queer folx" rather than gay are really just progressive heterosexual women), or else they put land acknowledgments in front of their mansions to show that they can both keep their wealth and still be fighting for the downtrodden at the same time. If you're a hedge fund manager who makes bonuses off mass layoffs, but you've memorized 97 different non-binary gender pronouns, you can sleep easy each night knowing you're "on the right side of history".
Performative America-hate is both part of how elites "maintain a sense of self-victimhood", and also how they virtue-signal their way into "the right side of history" at a time of rampant inequality.
I, too, am an immigrant although I live in the UK. I love it here and realise how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to obtain a British passport. I have the added bonus of being very fluent in English and a very Western/Christian name. This has definitely helped in many ways.
There are similar issues here, with much focus on how terrible the UK is with its colonial past etc. I'd rather city councillors focused on issues like the overflowing rubbish bins instead of hand wringing about removing statues and changing street names.
Reading your post brought to mind the song 'Problematic' by Francis Aaron, especially the line, "If there were no enemy to contend with, then it would be necessary to invent it."
I do agree that there are issues and injustices, past and present, that should be discussed and highlighted. But it does seem like there's a desire borne out of a lack of genuine hardship to spin a grand narrative of how terrible and oppressive a place like the UK is, when anyone with knowledge of living in other parts of the world will realise this is not the case.
My 2 greatest privileges are my American citizenship and speaking English....which my parents never did even though they lived for decade in the United States, but worked in factory jobs and never had the chance to learn more than random words.
If you persist in being reasonable, I will have no choice but to continue reading what you write.
Thanks so much for this, Sarah. As a retired wildlife biologist (but one never retires from being a naturalist), I am too prone to be discouraged by the environmental degradation I see around me. Both here in Appalachia, and on my travels. But then I remember that our National Park system is one of the most admired in the world. Few countries have done so well. And if I don't like something, I have the freedom to say so, with little danger of reprisal. Indeed, we have much for which to be thankful.
'Wajahat, you can go to Canada maybe, and some parts of Europe, but that’s it.'
Damn there's some real Aussie and Kiwi-erasure.
For real though I blame lack of history knowledge, specifically medieval-and-earlier history and the history of any country that isn't America or Europe. For those of us blessed to be born near the turn of the 21st century, especially those of us lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of western civilization, there is nothing that a good history education teaches more than gratitude.
This is a bit of a tangent, but your last paragraph got me thinking about how historically speaking, extreme class/wealth inequality between the haves and the have-nots always tends to create a fair amount of cognitive dissonance in the haves; I think half of what drives wokeness is what you aptly called "the charade releasing [elites] from the burden imposed by reality: the guilt of having so much, while others have so little." The other half is the sense of moral superiority that comes with being a card-carrying "ally" to those poor marginalized Google employees earning $300k/year.
In earlier times, the nobility/landed gentry of Europe loved waxing poetic about why they were so superior to the peasants, and therefore deserved to be throwing feasts as most of the country starved. In Victorian times it was about being enlightened/sophisticated compared to the simple commoners, and in the Antebellum South, it was southern courtesy/etiquette that made plantation owners so superior to the rough-around-the-edges slave class.
Nowadays, elites either self-identify their way into being 'marginalized' (e.g. most people who self-ID as "queer folx" rather than gay are really just progressive heterosexual women), or else they put land acknowledgments in front of their mansions to show that they can both keep their wealth and still be fighting for the downtrodden at the same time. If you're a hedge fund manager who makes bonuses off mass layoffs, but you've memorized 97 different non-binary gender pronouns, you can sleep easy each night knowing you're "on the right side of history".
Performative America-hate is both part of how elites "maintain a sense of self-victimhood", and also how they virtue-signal their way into "the right side of history" at a time of rampant inequality.
Another insightful post. Thanks.
I, too, am an immigrant although I live in the UK. I love it here and realise how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to obtain a British passport. I have the added bonus of being very fluent in English and a very Western/Christian name. This has definitely helped in many ways.
There are similar issues here, with much focus on how terrible the UK is with its colonial past etc. I'd rather city councillors focused on issues like the overflowing rubbish bins instead of hand wringing about removing statues and changing street names.
Reading your post brought to mind the song 'Problematic' by Francis Aaron, especially the line, "If there were no enemy to contend with, then it would be necessary to invent it."
https://youtu.be/nSAWylw8dwQ
I do agree that there are issues and injustices, past and present, that should be discussed and highlighted. But it does seem like there's a desire borne out of a lack of genuine hardship to spin a grand narrative of how terrible and oppressive a place like the UK is, when anyone with knowledge of living in other parts of the world will realise this is not the case.
Great job Sarah! I love these.
I am an immigrant.
My 2 greatest privileges are my American citizenship and speaking English....which my parents never did even though they lived for decade in the United States, but worked in factory jobs and never had the chance to learn more than random words.
Such an enjoyable read. Thank you.