US: A New Era of Defiance and Danger

It’s Halloween in the states, a time of defying death and of social sarcasm. Skulls and skeletons and ghosts crafted from bedsheets are everywhere. And it’s election time. Hardly anyone is talking about Ukraine. Horrendous stories of mysterious crimes flood the screens. Should we defy the mystery? Defiance as a life choice, however, doesn’t bring much joie de vivre.

United States, Oct. 30. After two years of paralysis, the world is starting to move again. American universities are extending invitations once again. Here’s my first odd observation: While the general public here often doesn’t even know where Italy is, they study Italian history at college with dedication and passion. Just think, Stanford University has the world’s largest collection of written and photographic material on Italian socialism. Someone will immediately argue that American universities are excruciatingly expensive and only for rich kids. I can testify that, on the contrary, they are full of underprivileged students who, having studied hard and who have talent, win scholarships to the greatest and most prestigious universities in the country.

Two words that come to mind after spending a couple of weeks in America traveling from California to Massachusetts, are defiance and danger. The old legends about conquering the West are still alive: it took a horse and a gun to move through a hostile and difficult world, along with a Calvinist spirit (meaning heaven for those who conquer the world with courage and initiative), a spirt that is continually called into question by the southern powers (even here there is a south, the increasingly present Latin America). Every gesture or choice is a challenge and you win with a gun.

It is clear that women are under the thumb of this bellicose attitude. However, they are very visible in public, something which is possible if they embrace defiance and adapt to the rules of the fathers. It’s a strange notion of female emancipation. This Halloween: a period of defying death and of social sarcasm. Skulls and skeletons and ghosts crafted from bedsheets are everywhere. And it’s election time. Hardly anyone speaks about Ukraine. Screens are flooded with horrendous tales of mysterious crimes. Should we defy the mystery? Defiance as a life choice, however, doesn’t bring much joie de vivre. One senses in the air of a still powerful and rich country a desperation to live that you don’t find in poorer and less powerful countries.