America fair
From G.E. French
Sir: What a lovely piece of American nostalgia by Geoffrey Wheatcroft (‘God Bless America, not Bush’, 17/24 December). I too had, and still have, that marvellous continent and its people close to my heart. Warts and all. We knew about the nasty bits, of course: slavery, the near genocide of the Indians, crime, corruption. But what else in the 20th century was there to compare with the wonderful popular music, the movies, the architecture, the literature, the steady improvement in the lives of the ‘ordinary’ people and that heart-stopping statue in the harbour? Where else was that honest, unembarrassed patriotism and positive, easy self-confidence? Not to mention the intellectual delight of Jewish humour. But the times they are a-changing and it is not only Scarlett and Rhett who have gone with the wind. Even the US cavalry seems to charge in the wrong direction these days. And Walt Whitman’s shining western star is not so bright any more, to our great concern and regret.
G.E. French Maidstone, Kent
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