{"id":1111,"date":"2012-10-12T18:33:45","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T01:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2017-09-11T08:03:35","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T15:03:35","slug":"my-american-neighbours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/my-american-neighbours\/","title":{"rendered":"My American Neighbours"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I wrote about my American neighbours, after a visit to #NYC and the #9\/11 memorial. And at the time of another #election. What I wrote then still fits today.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Friendly Americans<\/h3>\n

With the American election fever riding high, I can\u2019t help but think of all the wonderful Americans I’ve met. That\u2019s been one of the pleasures of traveling.<\/p>\n

In the spring, Robert and I spent three weeks in New York. In my debut novel, A Cry From The Deep,\u00a0<\/em>my character spends part of her time there, so the visit was partly for fun and partly for work. The people I met on the streets were bar none\u2014the friendliest, the most helpful and the most patient of any people I\u2019ve ever met on my travels. In this city of 8,000,000 and growing, people live a fast life. And yet, I found that whenever I stopped someone to ask for directions, they were always polite. They looked as if they had all the time in the world to help me. What a great city! What wonderful Americans!<\/p>\n

9\/11 Memorial<\/h3>\n

As for a more intimate experience, nothing \"American\"<\/a>can match the one I had at the 9\/11 Memorial<\/a>. We went there the day before Easter. I saw an older man with a bag of red Gerberas. He was putting them, one by one, onto an engraved woman\u2019s name, one that had been carved in the granite of the 9\/11 Memorial. I was touched by how tenderly he placed each flower. I was moved to approach him. I said to him, \u201cI\u2019m sorry for your loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped what he was doing and told me the story of his daughter who worked in the second tower. She and her boss were standing outside the building after the first tower was struck. Thinking they were safe, she went back into the building with her boss and never came out.<\/p>\n

Her father told me how much she loved Easter, how excited she would get with the \"American\"<\/a>festivities. How she loved chocolates and flowers.<\/p>\n

I asked him if I could give him a hug. He nodded. We hugged, and he cried on my shoulder.<\/p>\n

That man touched my heart and made me think again of his story, one of a couple of thousand more engraved on that memorial.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Americans on our Travels<\/h3>\n

And then, last month, we went on a cruise to celebrate our special anniversary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Geiranger, Norway<\/p><\/div>\n

On board were a lot of Dutch and American people. When we encountered any Americans at mealtime, the conversation would invariably turn to politics.\u00a0 We shared a dinner with a very well educated gay couple from Chicago who planned to vote Republican. I was stunned, as gay rights aren\u2019t on top of the Republican agenda. When I asked them why they were voting for Romney, one of them said, \u201cBecause of sharia law<\/a>.\u201d They were concerned that with Obama, the Islamic threat of sharia law would sneak into the American justice system. I thought the opposite. We have a multi-cultural society in Canada. I trust our justice system to handle this issue when and if it comes up.<\/p>\n

Another American we met was from the mid-west, a small business man who sold dentures. He told us that Obama was born in Kenya. That his birth certificate was false. It seems that no matter what Obama says, no one on the Right will take his word or the proof he\u2019s brought forward more than a few times.<\/p>\n

A Dutch woman we talked to said she\u2019d spoken to an American couple who believed the Jews were behind 9\/11. She heard from them that no Jews had perished in the Twin Towers disaster, as they\u2019d been warned beforehand.\u00a0 The Dutch woman and I shook our heads. It\u2019s hard to fathom that kind of ignorance. There\u2019s substantial evidence that no one was spared in that terrorist attack. \u00a0Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Atheists, they all died when the towers fell. What’s shocking to me is the fact that all these conspiracy and anti-Semitic theories continue to be spread by so-called intelligent people. It’s hard to find the truth in a pile of bullshit. \u00a0Does this remind you of what is going on today?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And then, there was this beautiful woman from California, the wife of a surgeon, who believed what Romney was saying about the 47% of Americans who weren\u2019t paying any taxes. She said, \u201cWe make over $250,000 a year and I don\u2019t see why we should have to carry those who don\u2019t contribute.\u201d She didn\u2019t know that many of that group pay heavy payroll taxes, that some others are the military, the veterans, the elderly, and oh yes, the poor, who can\u2019t find work or are sick or in jail. She didn\u2019t say anything about the 1%, the elite, who have so many loopholes and subsidies that they virtually end up getting more back from the government than they pay in taxes.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Strangers<\/h3>\n

Ah, the strangers we meet. How they inform us. How they inspire us to take stock of what\u2019s right in the world.<\/p>\n

The strangers I\u2019ve met make me wish the elections down south were shorter, less costly, and less confusing. It’s not fair to the American people. The dollars spent could be better used for education, health care, and infrastructures. It\u2019s hard to sort out the truth when so many lies are flying fast and furious. I just hope that reason prevails and the American people vote in the men who will serve their country the best and not their own interests.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wrote about my American neighbours, after a visit to #NYC and the #9\/11 memorial. And at the time of another #election. What I wrote then still fits today.\u00a0 Friendly… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88],"tags":[394,609,388,392,78,393,9,390,389,395,391,166,5],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-911-memorial","tag-a-cry-from-the-deep","tag-american-election","tag-conspiracy-theories","tag-diana-stevan","tag-jews","tag-novel","tag-obama","tag-romney","tag-terrorist-attack","tag-truth","tag-twin-towers","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-hV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2935,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/uncategorized\/freedom-is-what-our-veterans-fought-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":1111,"position":0},"title":"Freedom Is What Our Veterans Fought For","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"10 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Freedom is what our veterans fought for. The American election reminded us, that in a democracy, we have the right to vote and choose our own leaders. Whether we like the results or not, it's an example of democracy in action. Some didn't like who came out on top, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1502,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/uncategorized\/freedom-is-not-free\/","url_meta":{"origin":1111,"position":1},"title":"Freedom Is Not Free","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"8 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Nov. 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada and others in the Commonwealth. It's the day\u00a0 we honor our veterans and those we lost. It seems fitting then to tell you of my recent experience on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., an almost two mile long public space incorporating a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_3112","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3112-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2348,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/fiction-that-turns-out-to-be-real\/","url_meta":{"origin":1111,"position":2},"title":"Writing Fiction That Turns Out To Be Real","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"11 \u0412\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing fiction that turns out to be real is shocking. 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