The New World?

So i have been here for the best part of five months now, on the lovely west coast of this behemoth country, and can i still say that i consider America to be the Utopian image that i, as someone living in England, is presented with through film and music?

In all honesty, NO! On my first visual inspection of the country around me; the luxurious rolling hills, the thickly woven forest tapestry and the tranquil sparkling blue abyss of ocean, i could be forgiven for possessing the misconception that this country had it all. But as i have said before, i was still a tourist waiting to properly immerse myself into the melting pot that i thought was contemporary American society. Basing first impressions of aesthetic appearance alone, with only a hint of American societal experience, were the actions of a fool. I was so caught up in the hype and excitement of being in a new place that there were subtle aspects of interaction that often slipped through my perceptive net. For such a forward thinking country, and the biggest superpower in the world in recent times, there are many ideas still prevalent in this society that haul the country back to the mindset of old and hinder its progress further into the real 'New World'.

The World as we know it is becoming smaller as time progresses, and America in particular is one of the nations that embodies this idea. In San Francisco, LA, New York, Washington and Philadelphia (all cities where i have recently visited) the streets are littered by people of all different races, colours, creeds and sexualities. Again the aesthetic appearance of these places lead one to maintain the idea that America could actually be the worlds saviour, the way forward into a planet that is truly equal. Alas, this is part of the dream projected onto people who do not live in this place. One of the major problems that i have noticed in this society is the issue of colour. By that i mean the awareness of ones race and ones colour. To elaborate on my point, i mean the colour dynamic in terms of being black in America. In contrast to England, Spain and the Caribbean (all places where i have been able to observe the colour dynamic), colour becomes much more than simply colour, it is a definition of someone out here. Granted, in England, black people (as this is where my experience lies in terms of being a minority) are very aware of their colour, but not in the same way. It seems that in America, people are hyper-sensitive of the colour, that they let colour rule the way they act, think, move; basically have ultimate control over their existence.

I feel that in England, society has come to a point where we have almost transcended the idea of colour. Yes, there are still people around who see either one side of the spectrum of the other, but all in all i think England is much less colour conscious than out here. People are definately aware of their race and their roots in England, and to a certain extent it helps define their personalities, but it is not something that governs their lives. Unfortunately thats the way it seems to be for so many people here. The racial composition has, in my opinion, too much influence on people's actions, beliefs and attitudes out here. I feel that people are just too aware and hyper-sensitive about who they are racially. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that i have begun to notice more and more the racial tensions between people and communities. Being as i live in a largely chinese community, i have become more aware of how people look at me and react towards my presence. But i won't go into that too much because i'll seem like a paranoid mess.

This is the main problem with the society that i have noticed and obviously there are many more, as with all countries. But i won't delve into that now, i haven't updated my blog for a while so i will keep this one short. The other day i was reading Martin Luther King Jnr's infamous speech (to anyone who is too dumb to know what i'm talking about its the i have a dream speech) and i thought about how far away America was from his dream being realised. True, they do have a black president, but at the moment his legacy and potential to be a good president is being marred by groups of people springing up in opposition to him, calling him New Hitler and other unfair names.

Do i still think America is a nirvana like place that i thought of before i came to 'live here'. Simple answer...NOPE. It's another place with its own fresh supply of issues.