A Brit - at Thanksgiving

As a Brit living in the USA, may I wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving.

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I have learned that Thanksgiving is a time to literally give thanks, while binging out on a carb fest of spuds, pasta, sweet potatoes/yams, dressing/stuffing and then repeating the process between two bits of bread a few hours later, while trying to avoid heated debates with your boomer relatives on the merits of guns, dictators, immigrants, women’s reproductive rights, and whether or not they have Covid or it’s “just flu”.

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It's a bit like Christmas Day in the UK without the shit presents.

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Personally, I’d like to give thanks to Americans for accepting me, for giving me a flourishing business and allowing me to take part in your political system.

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Influence in much the same way that the people we now call Americans, did to the people we now call Native Americans in the 1600’s.

That last line is a bit out of order – I should know better; I’ve inhabited this space for 16 years now.

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While I can live a life in the pursuit of happiness and freedom, because I’m not American, I really shouldn’t criticize my host.

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In much the same way that British people feel about Americans in the UK.

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You’re welcome to our warm beer, tiny great lakes, pebbly beaches full of plastic and human waste, odd driving courtesies and rain…lots of rain.

But don’t you dare abuse our hospitality by making fun of the fact that dentists have opted out of the NHS, or that we like to change political leader as regularly as our underwear.

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They call it the narcissism of small differences- the idea that the more a relationship or community shares commonalities, the more likely the people in it are to engage in interpersonal feuds and mutual ridicule.

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You say potato and I say potato – that doesn’t work written down, does it?

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Because let us not forget how closely aligned the Americans and British are genetically. Americans are basically majority rebels. They are the people whose ancestors stuck two fingers up to the ruling classes of Europe and opted to stick just one up at their own, more liberal leader.

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They are the angry Scots Irish who were born fighting. They are the disaffected, the passionate, the laborers seeking to elevate their lives, the craftspeople, the artisans, the inventors but above all the most accommodating, non-judgemental and philosophical country of people I’ve ever met.

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And I use that phrase “country of people” because it’s not a culture; it’s a collection of cultures. It’s a crazy jumble of the good and the bad of thousands of generations of people from all over the world united by the common goal of wanting to grow. To do better for themselves and their family.

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It’s not pretty. True democracy never is.

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What the British have in the UK, Americans have too, except more of it. And they have guns - lots and lots of guns.

Even the weediest, shortstop who needs a stairlift to climb into the cab of his F250 coal-rolling dually is packing a peacekeeper and a little fun gun in his ankle holster.

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But that’s part of what makes America the country it is – a sleeping tiger, slightly prone to kicking off if you piss it off.

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But also creative, smart, fun-loving (no-one has more fun built into their lifestyles than Americans), simultaneously humble and boastful and above all, hard-working.

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And I know there’s also elements of the opposite in play – there always is. There’s 330 million people here for Christ’s sake. If only 10% of them don’t fit into the categories above, that’s nearly half the population of Britain.

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It stands to reason that one of them would become President one day.

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But a true democracy will prevent that from happening again. New rules will be put in place because that is the very essence of democracy and the very thing that dictators hate the most.

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Hence, the reason why there are amendments to the US Constitution – a bunch of what ifs and guardrails that came about from the pushing and pulling of the original seven articles of the US Constitution.

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I think the United Kingdom would benefit from its own constitution because if there’s one thing that always helps a democracy, it’s set of written rules, made for breaking, testing and enforcing.

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But until then, Britain and America will always have an unspoken code of understanding, deeper than the “Special Relationship” that politicians love to throw around.

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American IS Britain and Britain is America. We stand together, we fight together, we argue, we love, we shout, we scream, we despise and we admire.

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A bit like the family dinner table at Thanksgiving.

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But while all that goes on, just remember that all the other countries are secretly envious. Because without the Anglo/American relationship, the western world would look one hell of a lot different.

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This is not the beginning, nor is it the end. It’s a work in progress. It’s ugly, imperfect and uncomfortable but it’s the best we’ve got, and we will make it work because we’re smart and collaborative.

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As in America the constitution will prevail, globally the spirit of democracy will prevail, or die trying.

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This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for the opportunity to become the person I want to be. And I’m grateful that I live and work among creative, loving, hard-working, helpful, high-spirited and aspirational people of all makes and models in a part of the world that sees the potential in everyone and does its best to help them get there.

That reaches down, not punches up.

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Sleep tight my friends.

We’ve got this.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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