As IF Times

The largest sporting event in the world is happening right now and likely hundreds of millions of soccer fans (or football to Euros) have travelled to North America to witness the World Cup matches firsthand.  The venues are scattered amongst a number of host cities in Canada and Mexico but most notably, in the US.  The biggest by-product of the World Cup is really its main feature, that is, to draw tourism into host nations.

For many fans, this was the first ever visit to the US and the reactions to their experiences have been the most viral thing on social media.  There has been an explosion on Instagram and Tik-Tok by tourists expressing their amazement.  One fan in particular, a Freddy from Germany, has documented his trip from the airport on the east coast through his journey across the US south to Houston on social media.  He is shocked, literally shocked at the disconnect from what he’s been led to believe about the US versus his actual experience. Freddy is showcasing his real dose of American culture.

The sheer physical size of everything in the US is what seems to awe the tourists.  The immense distances between places is unimaginable to Europeans accustomed to walking from place to place.  As someone noted, you can drive for 17 hours and still not leave the state of Texas.  Speaking of size, everything is bigger.  Walmarts and Costcos are gigantic.  The iconic Buc-ee’s , notionally a gas station in the south will have 120, yes 120 gas pumps and their in-store product selection of goods boggles the European mind.  They realize that when someone says, “I’ve visited the US”, that it’s meaningless.  The US is quite literally 50 different mini countries. It would be as if you claimed to have visited Europe if you’ve spent a week in Paris.

There are of course, some stereotypes which are true about America. There is always amazement at the iconic serving sizes of food at restaurants in the US.  Regular portions would make main dishes in Europe look like finger snacks. Free drink refills.  Ice. Air conditioning. Pleasant service people. A deep love of country. These are all common things to Americans, but an amazement to Europeans.

But the one common observation amongst all the social media posts is just how hospitable and genuine they found Americans.  They are noted as being generous, welcoming and salt of the earth people.  It’s certain that this is surprising to many because of the images perpetuated by decades of media representing them as redneck hayseeds who will shoot you at the most minor provocation. Of course, this is actually true in Northeastern states; fortunately, those were not the venue cities.  In the south, tourists were welcomed with affectations of familiarity and hospitality, quite different from the experience they were expecting.

Our German tourist Freddy even discovered country music and the biggest country star at the moment, Ella Langley, even invited him to one of her concerts. Ella is by far the biggest star in the US.  Only in America.

So, why is this so? The answer possibly lies with the fact that media, both domestic and international, have always portrayed the US as a cultural backwater and professing that their own nations were superior. Even the usually haughty British tourists were surprised at the experience they were not prepared for, with some expressing an interest in moving here. It brings to mind the old saw;  from the perspective of a frog who lives in a well, the sky is only the circle of light that they can see above their heads.

It’s a bit surprising that only now, people are finally seeing for themselves a part of the world that had always been a caricature portrayed by media… and politicians.  Whether in the US, or Canada, or Mexico, visitors have found out what the world is really like outside of their own well.  They observe that people are the same everywhere and to harbor any misgivings about an entire nation based on hearsay is simply ill-informed propaganda.

So the takeaway is, go see for yourself; don’t pay attention to the propaganda spewed by media and politicians. Maybe this is the greatest epiphany to result from the World Cup activity.  If nothing else, people can return home from their experiences here and think more expansively and critically about their own living conditions and how it compares to those of others in the big world.  More importantly they should return with a renewed sense of skepticism over what they’re being fed at home. People should experience, not just believe. After seeing what’s out there, some are expressing on social media the now famous Ella Langley lyrics about their own nation, “ I can’t love you anymore”.  It also brings to mind the observation made famous by the Tin Pan Alley song after the American soldiers served in Europe after WW1, but now in reverse. ” How ya gonna  keep ’em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?”

One of the most common justifications for any and most political policies today is that such implementation is to ensure ‘safety’. This seems to be the method by which all politicians have figured out is a means of passing laws which would otherwise be unpalatable.

The most famous justification came in the aftermath of the attacks on New York in 2001.  Following the discovery of a would be terrorist who apparently had hidden a bomb in his shoe, the entire planet started a protocol of airport security screening which exists to this day.  Thus began a couple of decades of shoe removal, x-ray scanning and pat downs at airport terminals. Though there has been no record of any further terrorist efforts thwarted by such security, millions of nail clippers and water bottles have been confiscated.  But the procedure has taken a life of its own as everyone routinely accepts the procedure because it’s for their safety.  Thus, a muti-billion dollar bureaucracy is now an essential part of daily life.  Only now, it’s become worse, because now, electronic iris scans are virtually mandatory…for your safety.

As recently as only a few years ago, the world was paralyzed by an apparently dangerous virus which necessitated draconian measures of isolation and protection for…your safety.  Regardless of how non-sensical or invasive the protocols were, people were obliged to follow the new safety rules to be able to move about in society.  As the ensuing years have passed, it’s become evident just how preposterous those edicts were.  Recall standing six feet apart at the airline counter, but then only to sit elbow to armpit next to someone on the plane for 5 hours.  Or to mask up upon entering a restaurant, but then able to de-mask once seated.

Related to this was the over the top response to peaceful protesters in Ottawa who didn’t happen to agree with the government’s draconian edicts.  Police were sent out to trample protestors…for their safety.

When politicians run for office, they are often known to invoke the ‘for your safety’ card in proposing new rules just to live in society, as if they were protecting people from some cataclysmic danger.  We will soon see the push for central bank digital currencies…to protect the public of course.  We now have cars that monitor your driving habits…again for public safety.

How did civilization survive through the eons without pearl clutchers restraining us at every opportunity?  I can make the argument that this is a phenomenon related to females and female leaders.  The very idea of safety resonates more with the female populace than it does for males.  It is not in the nature of most men to do things based on the safety of a particular action. I will wager that everything from seatbelts to helmets and airbags have at their roots an appeal to women’s notions of safety.  If you’ve ever shopped for any baby product, safety is the number one selling feature above all.

Men don’t generally worry about safety as it relates to ascending or descending a mountain.  Safety doesn’t hold them back from exploring new lands or to go up in a rocket to other planets.  Safety doesn’t hold them back from spending vast sums on capital projects and risky ventures.  In the grand scheme of things, all great things have been accomplished by doing things outside of the confines of safety.   Civilization is not about safety.

But somehow over the years, the overriding aspect of ‘safety’ is baked into so much of our everyday lives that innovation and freedom are stifled, leading to a flaccid and fearful society.   Where?  Well Canada is a prime example of a smothering nanny culture.  The present environment of creeping big government has been increasingly responsible for the dearth of innovation and ambition.  Young, ambitious people are leaving to more hospitable nations. According to Statistics Canada, record numbers of people are leaving Canada within 2 years of arriving.  Of course there are other issues as well such as high housing costs, but much of that could be mitigated by policies aimed at growth instead of protectionism and alarmism.  Protecting everything under the guise of safety leads to a stagnant nation which will not grow and will in fact shrink.

Masculine sensibilities must return.  There has to be a preference for growth and risk taking in order for any civilization to progress.  Looking backwards and being fearful of every path taken will lead to insular and stagnant societies.  We don’t need to be protected at every step in our lives.  We have become prisoners of the safety lie.

Maybe the pundits were right. Maybe the guardrails should be taken off to cull the herd of the terminally inept.

Addendum.  Just a day after this was published, Senator Tammi Duckworth urges re-instatement of shoes off policy at airport security points. They are caricatures of themselves.