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July 5th, 2008 Brussels
My Brussel’s host, Alvilda, through some odd connection, was invited to the US Embassy’s “U.S. Independence Day 2008” part on Friday, July 4th. The invitation read:
Sam Fox
Ambassador of the United States of America to Belgium,
and
Christopher W. Murray
Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the European Union
invite you
to celebrate the 232nd Anniversary of the Independence
Of the United States of America
The event was held at the Hilton Hotel on Boulevard de Waterloo, just a few blocks from where Alvilda works. The theme was Route 66, and instead of a red carpet there was a carpet made to look like asphalt divided by a broken white line. A couple had leant their Harley-Davidsons for the receiving line, while another had leant two red classic Mustangs that were parked outside the Hilton, on the sidewalk, during the event. We went to meet Americans, a task we immediately realized would be much more difficult than anticipated as we saw that the majority of guests were 60+ year old men in a variety of military uniforms—but almost none of them US. While Alvilda set about testing her knowledge of international military uniforms, I went to get us drinks (they were serving wine from Washington State, which was never on Route 66).
Alvilda told me in no uncertain terms that she was determined to leave the event with at least one new American friend, so I grabbed the first “American” looking person, who turned out to be “Richard” –newly appointed to work for the US delegation to the European Union (I put his name in quotes, because neither Alvilda nor I can actually remember his name. I do recall that he said he was from Ohio, or something). “Richard” informed us that the Charge d’Affaires was an interesting guy whose last posting had been Lebanon and had been in charge of evacuating 1500 Americans during the war last year (which I know about best through the episode of “No Reservations” in which Anthony Bourdain has gotten trapped there unexpectedly—um, I suppose this says something about how I should pay more attention to international news).
While the Charge d’Affaires was doing his introduction, he, like Sam Fox, the Ambassador, meant to invoke both patriotism for the United States and respect for the EU, particularly for Belgium and France (maybe because so many Belgians are Francophones?). He talked about the great gift of the French to the US of the Statue of Liberty. So then Charge d’Affaires said, “When our company…I mean “country”…was founded…” and I thought, did he really just say that? And I turned to “Richard” and Alvilda and asked, “Did he just say-“ and they both answered, “Yes. He said “Company.” Now “Richard” seemed a nice young man, earnest about his new position, so I was trying not to be a snarky left coast liberal, but there are only two interpretations of a slip like that: 1. He meant “company” as in the US is a transnational, global capital machine, i.e. “Halliburton” or 2. He meant “The Company” as in the Cold War nickname for the CIA. Which do you think it was?
When the National Anthem plays on the 4th of July, at a celebration hosted by the US Embassy, Americans should put their right hands over their hearts, and maybe even endeavor to sing along? For some reason, almost no one in the room was doing this, as Alvilda pointed out when it was done. Even, in fact, our US delegation to the EU guy—“Richard”—had failed to do so. Were we all just caught off guard? Was it awkward because we all had drinks in one hand and in the other little plates of either deconstructed guacamole/black beans in tortilla “cups” or beef carpaccio (not exactly Route 66 fare)? Or was our failure to demonstrate our patriotism due to some other factor? Or because we were conscious of being Americans in a foreign country? Regardless of its cause, we were both strangely disappointed by this lack.
And then we met a bunch of Belgian people, including a very nice young man (yeah, can’t remember his name either—I think by this time we were on our 3rd glass of free wine) who is married to a Turkish woman. He and Alvilda had an interesting discussion about the parallels between Female Genital Mutilation (the project she heads at her NGO) and male circumcision. His wife is pregnant, and they know they are having a boy. He feels that it is not his right, as a parent, to make this kind of decision about his child’s body. It is, we agreed, a larger issue of human rights.
Which brings me to the graffiti that is spray painted around our Brussels neighborhood. I keep seeing it at odd places, unexpectedly, and it keeps bringing me up short. It is Uncle Sam, in his classic, finger-pointing pose. Even simplified into a spray-painted graphic, he is undeniably recognizable. He looks angry, like you might be shirking your duty to enlist. But instead of the message underneath that we expect to see (“I Want You! For the US Army”) there is something unexpected. It just says,
“I Love You!”
Every time I read this I feel like I might—not cry exactly, but I feel full of—what? Terror, honor, pride, fear, glory? I feel like the Brussels sky—one moment I could be like one of these pregnant clouds, slowly unleashing a downpour, and then ceasing, suddenly, the sky then to break into too-warm sunshine. It all feels like too much. For Uncle Sam to say “I Love You!” invokes the threat of war, it invokes the “send me your huddled masses” sentiment of the Statue of Liberty” (and the anti-immigrant irony of all that), it invokes—for me–the multi-cultural love fest that is the Bay Area (a bit of homesickness?). We contain multitudes, we contradictory Americans.
“I Want/Love You!”
~Wei Ming Dariotis[/lang_en]
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