I'm back from the United States where I spent over two weeks--my longest trip since moving to Brazil. The US's culture and its laws rang out to me loud and clear immediately.
When I'm driving in the US, it's jarring how much of the time I spend looking in the rearview mirror for cops. In Brazil, this doesn't happen. Cops don't pull people over. I haven't seen it happen in my eight-plus months here. Why? Because cops in Brazil fight crime.
I felt the US law machine at the after party following our literary event, As Was Written. About 20 of us hung out in front of an Old Town watering hole enjoying drinks and conversation. Throughout the night, the bartenders of the place stepped outside to point out the imaginary line separating the outdoor bar area from the sidewalk. The legal from the illegal. Like worried camp counselors they asked us over and over to please stay inside the line.
Not that I blame them. They're trying to avoid hefty fines. The problem is a system that started with a good idea and then missed the point.
About halfway through my stay in the US, a construction crew showed up one morning outside my parents' house. My mom, to put it lightly, was not pleased to see them. These men were from the government and despite several efforts on her part to prevent this day from arriving, it had. They had a job to do.
When I came home that afternoon, I found this lovely addition to the front yard. It's an American with Disabilities Act-compliant curb, complete with one of those bumpy squares to let blind pedestrians know it's game time.
It's still got that new curb smell.
Only one problem, the curb isn't connected to any sidewalk. It's just there, alone, going nowhere, with no plans to expand. But can the Virginia DOT mark off another box on their cover-their-ass legal checklist? You bet.
I say all this as if the US is one big problem. In reality, the US is probably the best it's ever been. I realize that statements like this automatically lose every non-Obama voter from the past six years (and probably even half of them), but I'm not crediting Obama with anything. Or Congress. Or anyone in particular.
It's the US people. A culture that has seen meteoric drops in crime over the last 15 years (although the local news likes to overlook this). A culture where teen pregnancy is plummeting. AIDS and other infectious diseases are under control (still holding steady at one Ebola death). A people that looked at smoking, determined it was a problem and cut the teen smoking rate in half in just 20 years. In half!
There's unemployment, yes, and the breakdown of the family unit and inequalities galore, but if there's one thing that living in a place like Brazil will teach you it's that being born in the USA is the biggest lottery ticket you're ever going to win. Enjoy accordingly.
Real quick: A conversation with Daniela from a couple years ago:
Dani: "A lot of people talk crap about the US. How does that make you feel?"
Me: "You know what, a lot of people talk crap about the prettiest girl in high school."
Brazil on the other hand, has its long list of problems. But under that torrent of crises, lies a gentle, refreshing current of I-think-we-can-all-chill-outs. A system that doesn't use tax dollars to hire an army of ticket-writers to drain us of even more money. A people that will let you step outside with a beer without fear of being tackled.
The best way to live, like most things in life, probably lies somewhere in the middle. Not that we're ever going to craft that perfect society. If you're money hungry, or seriously ill, or a new parent, or poor, or rich or a budding entrepreneur, the US is probably a better bet for you.
But sometimes you just want to step out of a noisy room onto a sidewalk. A sidewalk that goes somewhere. And that's one reason I love living here and don't intend to move anytime soon.
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