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Don’t worry. They’re not mad at *you*

No, it has not escaped notice here that our juvenile president seems to go way out of his way to insult Britain. Sending nobody from his administration to Maggie’s funeral is just the latest in a series. (The picture is from the rehearsal, by the way).

Here’s the thing, though — that “special relationship” stuff is real and it is an incredibly durable and powerful force. It’s not about our governments cooperating. In fact, politicians of all kinds seem a little embarrassed about it (for reasons I can’t quite wrap my puzzler around). It’s because we are the same people. We share a common history, a common law, a common view of the world. Not just Anglo-American, but wherever free markets and English common law have penetrated — in other words, former British colonies. (Oh, it’s not racial, either. It applies equally to former colonies like Hong Kong). It’s the Anglosphere, and it’s real and persistent.

I get a much wider view of it from here. Despite the locking down of legal immigration (and you better believe they’re clamping down on migration between these two countries — not the right sort of immigration, don’tcha know), people are still finding ways to move between Anglospheric countries. Nearly every one of our neighbors has family in the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. This is sheep country, so that’s not surprising, but it’s also true of my doctor and the road engineer who lives on the corner.

I expected to encounter some degree of anti-Americanism, but so far…nada. People’s faces light up when they hear my accent and they can’t wait to tell me about their last trip to Vegas or Disney World.

So, no worries. The petulant man-child in the Oval Office has tweaked a few tails, but nobody’s mad at you. We’re family, after all.

April 16, 2013 — 9:49 pm
Comments: 27