All American Ghosts

One of my favorite things to do is to visit cemeteries. I have been to many. The oldest were European and more than 1000 years old. Today, I went to a little village in the Michigan thumb, because the historical society offered a tour of famous people having lived and most noticeably died there.

It is interesting to see the history of those that came before us and seeing the ones that have predated us. A lot of the towns history was people coming from Europe spending a few years in the Eastern regions like New York and then using the Erie Canal to find their way into Michigan.

These were stories of hopes and dreams, but also wars and failures. I imagined it to be a little like the Ingall’s family that we know most about. People that seek out to make it in the West. Starting communities. Building up towns. All from scratch.

Since I was a little girl and I found a gravestone high up on the new dedicated climbing oak tree I had just discovered, I have been fascinated with history. Not the history that you find in books which is more a chronological series of events. Not about people with their day to day lives. Those history books you study in school do not really tell you much about what people did for a living, how they spent their time when not working or farming, and what they did to relax.

Relaxation and free time are weird concepts, right? There is an evolutionary reason we crave them, I fully believe.

I remember the generation coming before us, people born before 1950s, they had some unique habits that even crossed Oceans and are not just local behavioral ticks. Men would always carry a pocket knife and … often enough a game of cards. Whenever time allowed or a lunch break was in place someone pulled out the cards and a game was instantly started. The smartphone has replaced a lot of this.

I do not know anyone who is carrying a pocket knife anymore. I have not seen anyone carrying a deck of cards around since at least the 1990s.

Today, I am not ruminating about how the smartphone is killing social interactions. While this is true, it is not exactly the only thing smartphones have changed. They also have changed something very fundamental in our human evolution: the desire to learn and progress a trade or … a hobby. In essence, most hobbies are crafts. Skills you develop by doing the same thing over and over. Like learning a musical instrument or drawing or embroidery. Beautiful things that make our lives prettier, happier, more ornamented.

Just yesterday, I read that humans in certain African countries like Namibia do not have the same tendencies to plan for the future and no patience to delay gratification, because they live in a more volatile environment. Agriculture as we know it from our European ancestors has not just allowed us to settle, but also a new way of living with a future oriented mindset. Our entire European way of life with heavy work periods during high peak farming times and downtimes at night or on Sunday to rest and worship enabled us to build up a very learning rich environment.

If you go back in your own family history, you will almost always find someone who played an instrument really well, mastered a craft, or was just overall engaged in a club, community, or church. Agriculture is what enabled our educational system from school to universities, because it enabled us to plan ahead, store food, and free up time for… learning.

High uncertainty environments are more present focused. They force you into a constant state of ‘what do I need now, let me get it’. Long term planning is just not in the books.

Today, I noticed something about me that I do not really like. One of the tour guides of the cemetery was a history teacher. And I really did not like her instantly, she was one of those women who I perceived to have a "Fight ICE” sticker on her car or a “BLM” sign in her yard. She talked mostly about slavery and how that was a dark part of our history. And yes, I agree slavery is and was bad. What I hated in that moment she told these historical facts as she learned them is that I disliked her with a passion. I felt her report was one sided. I hated how — between the lines — she suggested that slavery was invented by Americans. She took a historical fact and splashed the American history with tar and feathers within a very narrow context she drew carefully. I hated how I just judged her and that made it hard for me to listen to her with a generous mindset.

The other thing I did not like is me freezing and closing up when certain people enter a public space. I do not want to feel that way in the town I live in. I want to feel the community and the common shared values. As you all know from reading my last post, I am deeply emotionally affected by the mass migration from Arabic and North African countries. Not only have I seen Germany deteriorate by allowing the culture to be eroded and diluted with Islam, but also how more and more Germans are struggling because resources are being pushed towards immigrants, international causes, and other saving the world fantasies. All this, while German infrastructures and schools are suffering. By resources I mean everything directly from money to actual health care services. Things that used to be standard no longer are.

So, mass immigration is a problem.

Today, my husband and I spontaneously went to vote early. We drove to a nearby library that was assigned to us as our early voting location. Everyone was nice and friendly. We even met an outspoken Indian woman who ran for a county clerk; she was there in person.

Inside, we were greeted by white women and men who had volunteered their time to help this election process. Yes, I noticed they were all white and in their 60s and 70s. My ID was looked at very critically twice. Which made me happy. It was also scanned in.

I blacked out the boxes of my favorite candidates and my ballot was then read by a machine. It told me my vote was counted. Not sure what exactly was counted. But hey, I voted.

What I noticed, though, was the amount of Indian and Arabic people voting. Some women in full on traditional abaya. Some barely spoke English. And don’t forget, I am a naturalized citizen myself. This was just my second election I was eligible to vote in. However, I am bothered when I see people voting that clearly do not share the cultural and ethical values of the US.

I dislike that I have become this cynical.

I know that the person (Abdul Ballout) who ran into the crowd at the Berlin Christopher Street Festival in July was a German citizen. It did not make him appreciate people and country. Instead he now killed someone. And how many more like that are there. If they are not directly killing people or harming them physically, in what direction do you think their voting record will go? It is obvious that they will not vote for anything that will conserve the German culture or value system.

Why are we giving out citizenships like candy?

When I became a citizen, I had to sign and confirm several times that I am not a communist. Why are there so many communists being naturalized in the US then. Just take the most famous example of Zohran Mamdani. It makes no sense.

I also went to my naturalization ceremony. And I was the only person that was not from Indian or Arabic ancestry there. The only one out of hundreds of people.

Does nobody pay attention?

How do people that do not even speak English pass the test?

I sometimes wish our ancestors that really build up the country and fought hard to enable our lives would just come back out of their graves to haunt us. To haunt us as a punishment for what we have allowed this country to become.

Immigration many years ago was about finding new opportunities and working hard to build a life. These days, it feels it is more about coming to country to rough it up and get stuff for free.

A quick google search shows that in Germany 47% of the citizen allowance (Bürgergeld, a type of welfare) recipients are non-citizens. 62% of the recipients have a migration background. If it is called citizen allowance, why are non citizens getting it in the first place? Apparently, I am asking too complicated of a question.

Today’s visit to the cemetery was full of inspiration: adventure lust, hard work, and commitment to a better future has led many people to build up what we know is the United States. I am proud to live here and leave my own footprints.

Let’s not destroy it by voting in more Abduls, Zohrans, and Ilhans. There is nothing good coming from having more people from high uncertainty and low trust countries bring the present-focused mindset and honor culture to our societies.

As much as it is fun to live in the now and pull out a deck of card for a spontaneous game, it is also fun to learn and breed the natural curiosity that has shaped so many artists and creators in the past. We need more of that. People that want to build. Not consumers.

Cheers.