It’s my last night in New York before I head back. One thing I will miss is hearing the words ‘you all’ pronounced as ‘y’all’. There is a casual ease about the conflation of the words. It is so pan-American and is probably one of the few things left that is representational about the American people as a whole. Much in the same way that the UK is riven by political division, the same and, in fact, worse is happening in America.
As the mid-term elections approach (November 6 2018) the fires of division are being stoked and by, no less, the politicians themselves. There is no middle ground. Stark similarities abound here. If there was an appetite for a middle ground the Liberal Democrats in the UK would be doing better in the polls. The Democrats are a centre-left party but are struggling in the polls even though the President is a foul-mouthed, ranting narcissist who lies all the time.
All through my visit, I have been photographing people and places that I think represent America. Presidents and Prime Ministers may come and go but it is the people, the ordinary folk, who have to bear the burden of their self-interested political careers and ensuing policies designed to keep them and their parties in power.
Belinda works as a park guide in Central Park. She is from Honduras and arrived in the US six years ago. She told me that she came in pursuance of the American dream. Belinda also used the words ‘city of rights’ to describe New York because, she says, Honduras has a poor record on women’s rights. Things have changed in a short space of time for her. “This is not a city to dream in any more”, she told me. She thinks that America has become a country of ‘need’ and not ‘want’ because of the struggle for survival. Also, because of Trump’s dislike of Hispanics Belinda lives in fear of being harassed by the immigration authorities even though she is living here legally. Her culture has become a trap. “Trump is trying to make this country a one culture place but Trump Land is built on more than one culture”.
Marilyn Monroe is still very much part of the cultural landscape and is loved for her glamorous look. Would she say to Trump, “You sir, are no JFK”, I wonder?
This stands in the New York Museum of Historical Society. A Liberal manifesto.
Franklin Roosevelt’s ‘Four Freedoms’. Taken from the New York Museum of Historical Society.
The rate of homelessness in New York is alarming. New York seems to have become a haven for ultra expensive real estate.
I only had a second to capture this trilogy of the Statue of Liberty, a Staten Island ferry and a rescue helicopter above It seemed to embody the action paced movies and TV programmes that America churns out for the global audience. It is America’s soft power and God knows that they need a lot of it to counter the hard power of a manic President.
This says it all doesn’t it?
Me having my fill of waffles by Central Park.
That’s all folks. Over and out.