What a Field of Sunflowers in Umbria Taught me About my Poor Bruised Soul

Let’s just say it’s been a rough couple of weeks. For all of us.

Taken on the aggregate, Americans are an incurious lot. Typical response to discovering that I live in Italy: “Cool!” But that’s as far as it goes. There are never any follow-up questions, and over this past decade, I have learned not to expect any. I’m not one to yammer on about myself, but especially when I know the person in front of me has not one clue what I’m talking about.

Never waste time trying to explain yourself to someone who (either willfully or through sheer indifference) refuses to understand you. That’s time you can never get back again.

But the one thing some Americans have been known to say that sticks like a burr under my saddle is: “Why do you care so much about American politics? You don’t live here anymore.”

And that’s about the most pig ignorant thing you can say to a person like me. I care deeply about my country. I have two adult children who live there. Believe me, I got skin in the game. Just because I can no longer afford to live there on my freelancer salary doesn’t mean I renounced my citizenship. If anything, seeing the U.S. at a remove has given me greater clarity.

One thing conservatives consistently get wrong about left-leaners like me is the idea that because we criticize our country, we don’t love it. When I’m not mildly annoyed at their short-sightedness, I’m amused by their hypocrisy. Who criticizes America more rabidly than those flag-waving, Funyun-eating, AR-15-shooting, Fox News-watching, Trump-loving folk?

Here’s the difference. I’m not criticizing my country. I’m criticizing them. And heaven knows, they’re criticizing me. American politics isn’t even about the issues anymore. It’s about “owning the libs”, and yes, sometimes they have good reason for that.

I often wonder what might happen if we outlawed political parties. Would the electorate then be forced to actually research the politicians they’re voting for? What if instead of pressing the lever for any bozo with an R by his name, we had access to a candidate’s platform or voting record right there in the voting booth? Would we start voting the…

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