Orin Gordon
When I was a twentysomething postgraduate student in Journalism in the UK, one of my closest friends was Pasquale, from Italy. I learned a few things from him… that pasta is best added to boiling water and not boiled in water, and that it is served al dente – hardish, not soft.
I observed that Italian men seemed to attract women effortlessly, that southern Italians weren’t all swarthy like the Corleones, and that there were blond, blue-eyed southerners who had Arab/Muslim ancestors. And I found out that Pasquale’s English language finishing school was American movies.
In Iran, where some Americans incorrectly assume that everyone wakes up and chants “death to America” first thing in the morning, the teenagers I talked to wanted to join older siblings at university in the US. Before US sanctions bit, their well-to-do parents would vacation in Los Angeles. The city has a sizable Iranian community. Some call it Tehrangeles.
Clamps on internet access by Iran’s repressive theocracy became more severe under US and Israeli bombardment. Previously, they didn’t dim access to US TV offerings like Netflix. Other pieces of Americana, like Jack Daniel’s Bourbon, were in demand. Jack from Tennessee and Johnny from Scotland left their mark. Some of the most impressively stocked home bars I’ve seen were in Iran, where alcohol consumption is forbidden.
Mehrnaz, then bound for university study in Paris, told me in perfect English that her favourite character from Sex and the City was Samantha. Mine was Miranda, the lawyer. She was witty for days, could cuss a bit (she had the best lines), and sported a pixie cut – an irresistible trim.
Late into the night, as Mehrnaz’s older cousins and I mellowed out from a few mixes, we had an extended sing-along to our favourite songs. Buffalo Soldier did travel (big up Jamaica), but most were American.
Arms around shoulders, we belted out Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name.” Word perfect. One cousin put two fingers together to mimic a pistol, aimed and fired at another. He fell in mock-death after being “shot through the heart.” That was as close as those young men would get to taking up arms.
On April 1, the US space mission Artemis II made a spectacular takeoff from Cape Canaveral in Florida, on a fly-by mission around the moon. The takeoff was soul-stirring. I couldn’t get enough of watching videos of it. From all points, over and over. I enjoyed watching BBC Science reporter Rebecca Morelle, live outside the launch site, completely lose her composure as the fire, thunder and power of the most powerful rocket ever built shook her to her bones. It was beautiful. And it reminded me why we love the United States.
Later that day, 800 miles north in Washington, President Trump would give a belated justification for attacking Iran in concert with Israel, in a televised address. It was classic Trump. The best ever. Had never been done before. No other president before him had what it takes to get it done.
Despite Trump’s efforts to withdraw from the rest of the world in all respects except militarily, we’re conditioned and hardwired to admire the US and to thirstily consume what she makes. Her music, movies, clothes, tech, innovation, food and more.
Over successive long weekends, many Trinis took off for the United States. All parts. The Trump administration tightened entry requirements, and yet we go in numbers. Forex spending limits are severely tested on New York’s Fifth Avenue, ironically, the same street on which Trump Tower stands.
Some of the State Department’s newly introduced curbs are driven by a cynical relabelling of disagreement and dissent as dislike and disdain. It’s possible to be critical of someone we like, admire or are close to. Same for a country. There are people who hate the US for a number of reasons and would inflict harm on her if they could. It’s understandable that the country would be wary of those threats.
However, that’s not how most of us feel towards the US. I had to grow up before I could recognise that the sibling who was tough on me was coming from a place of love and care. And that she was right most of the time.
