Welcome to the new American
The book “The Ugly American” was published in 1958 and lauded as an incisive analysis of America’s myopic approach to foreign policy in Southeast Asia.
But over the years it has come to mean something else: the inclination of many Americans to view their citizenship as a moral entitlement to be served by other nations and cultures, and their boorish refusal to consider competing viewpoints.
I got a taste of that one recent night at a local saloon.
My friend, whose name I’ll leave out of this, is gearing up for a deployment to a “dry, dusty place.” He is a reservist and has served in the military for many years. He, his wife and I decided to have dinner and catch up before he leaves.
At the saloon we looked forward to playing a televised trivia game in which each player uses a remote to answer questions and compete against other bar patrons. One of our habits is to use unusual or funny names. Considering recent events, my friend decided to play as “Chirac.” I chose “Saddam.” How ironic, I thought. Saddam has been booted out of Iraq and he’s playing trivia in a saloon near my home.
Wrong.
Soon, our table was approached by an angry man, who snarled at us, “You should be ashamed yourselves for using those names! Get out of here! Exit! EXIT!”
I thought he was joking, but only when I realized his face was purple with rage did the situation take on the surreal aspect of a David Lynch movie.
Then his buddy, an ex-Marine, approached. He too snarled at us, and when I told him to go back to the bar he shoved me, causing me and my stool to lean into my friend’s wife. In the perfect dream scenario I would have recovered my balance, leaped from my stool and pounded him to within an inch of his life. In fact, by the time I regained my footing my friend was off his stool and the aggressor had retreated.
The fact that I’m the son of a World War II fighter pilot and an Air Force brat mattered not a bit. The fact that my friend is active-duty military and fresh from a Distinguished Flying Cross for action in Afghanistan didn’t matter either. These two were offended and they were going to smite the offender.
Others said later I was stupid for choosing such a name in a “military community.”
Bunk.
My experience is that servicemembers are usually smarter, funnier and more tolerant than the civilian general wannabes who get drunk on Fox News and armchair testosterone.
It is these arrogant, self-absorbed, cultural and political bigots who support and perpetuate the notion of pax Americana, having grown fat on a grotesque parody of information supplied by so-called “news networks” who routinely color their presentations with propaganda and distortions.
But it really has nothing to do with war, respect or taste. It’s a question of having the sophistication to distinguish between an insult and a slur, and the ability to function as a person who is sufficiently confident and comfortable in his beliefs that he doesn’t feel compelled to destroy others for believing differently.
The ugly American these days tends to be a humorless, jingoistic super-patriot whose dogmatic chest-thumping blinds him to reality, reason, and in this case, humor.
A lot of Americans think that isn’t a bad thing. But in a world that becomes more globalized and interdependent each minute, cultural and intellectual xenophobia are the first steps on a road self-absorption, decay and collapse, not vitality.
And besides, the ugly Americans have got it all wrong. America is not about squashing dissent and differences. It’s about diversity, tolerance and intelligence.
The ugly American is not a patriot. He’s one of the things wrong with the country.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .