What we Can Learn from America: An Optimistic Story about the Promised Land

A book review by Madeleine Kando and Tom Kando

Rick Nieman, a Dutch journalist who has lived and studied in the United States, recently published this charming and well-written book about his impressions and views of America. He comes to the conclusion that Holland can learn a lot from the US.

The most significant point in his book is that America, unlike Holland, is a country of 'dreamers'. Not in the sense that Americans have unrealistic hopes for the future. Americans, in fact, are pragmatists and they believe that starting out with nothing, you still can make your life better. They believe in the future.

It is the idea that many things are possible, which is typical of a young country. Nieman compares America to a teenager and Europe to an older uncle, who could learn from his young nephew. America, he says, is a nation that believes in its own power to change the world and itself in it.

What the Dutch admire the most about America is its freedom, both physical and social. This freedom is a result of a long struggle to kick out the British rulers. The Founding Fathers realized that total anarchy would not be a good idea, so they conceded to have some parts of society controlled by a government: Safety and foreign affairs, but not much else. Compare that to Europe’s history where the opposite took place. Bit by bit, the King or Emperor gave their subjects a few freedoms and kept adding to them. Europeans are used to being governed centrally, whereas Americans want self-governance, and minimal meddling from government in their affairs.

This book reveals as much about the Dutch as about America. The Dutch cannot afford to be dreamers because they spend all their energy trying to 'keep their feet dry'. It takes a common effort to build dykes and to push back the sea. Personal happiness is a luxury that the Dutch cannot afford. The Dutch language is full of expressions that attest to that attitude: 'Doe gewoon, dan doe je gek genoeg' (act normal, that’s crazy enough) and 'als je je hoofd boven het maaiveld uitsteekt, wordt je hoofd afgehakt.' (If you stick your head out, it’ll get chopped off).

Nieman mentions two Dutch character traits that are quite foreign to Americans. They like to bellyache (mopperen). As Nieman explains, the Dutch are quite satisfied as individuals, but they like to complain their institutions. And ‘betuttelen’ (patronizing its citizens) is how rules are enforced. A good example is the prominent notices on the trolleys: ‘ik kijk naar rechts as ik uitstap’ (I look to the right when I get off), as if the passengers were all 5 year olds.

In chapter 5, Nieman compares the friendliness of Americans and Dutchmen, especially in the service industry. Dutch waiters often give you the feeling that they are doing you a favor by serving you and the practice of having to pay to use the bathroom in an establishment is unheard of in America.

In chapter 6, Nieman discusses politics: Americans still feel that they can make a difference with their vote. Voting is very personal to them. They vote for an individual, not a party.

States have a lot of independence from the Federal Government, but when push comes to shove, America is one nation. Unlike what happened in Greece, if one of our states, let’s say California, went bankrupt, no resident of Massachusetts would complain about the Feds stepping in and bailing them out.

Also, it is true that immigrants are more integrated in America. The many groups of immigrants who have arrived on America’s shores over the centuries have formed new kinds of nationalities: The Irish/Americans, the Italian/Americans, the Chinese/Americans, etc. They have kept their own identities but they consider themselves Americans first. There is no equivalent for the words ‘autochtoon/allochtoon’ in America. A ‘Native American’ is not someone who is born here as opposed to a ‘foreigner.’ A Native American is an American Indian.

We ourselves are a good example of how immigrants fare in the U.S. We are immigrants, we are Hungarian refugees, but here we finally feel like we are part of society. This is due to a combination of all the qualities that Nieman discusses in his book, but mostly it represents a generosity that America still has to offer to newcomers. There is enough room to be accepted for who you are.

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However, this book is also a case of the “grass being greener on the other side.” We all suffer from this to some extent. For example, we just returned from Rotterdam, and we were totally flabbergasted by that fantastically futuristic city. Viewing Rotterdam, we felt that America was about fifty years behind the Netherlands. Similarly, Nieman often sees America through rose-tinted glasses. Many of his observations are extremely rosy, and some are simply counter-factual:

He briefly touches upon the subject of guns, without mentioning that there will probably be almost a thousand murders this year in Chicago alone - seven times more than in the entire Netherlands.

In chapter 8, Nieman discusses “Business,” noting that America has fewer rules to set up a business, which is good for entrepreneurs. However, when it comes to protecting the rights of workers, American businesses need more regulation, not less. And the corporate tax code is so full of loopholes that makes it look like a piece of Gruyere.

It’s fine and dandy to have the freedom to rely on yourself in the boondocks of Tennessee, but if you live in the slums of a big American city, you neither have the freedom that Nieman so admires, nor the protection and support of a social safety net. You fall between the cracks and that covers a large part of the population.

There was a time when America was indeed the land of opportunity par excellence. Horatio Alger’s America. Even Marx recognized that America was uniquely able to avoid class conflict due to its exceptionally high rate of mobility. Many still believe in this American exceptionalism.

However, there is growing evidence that ”the U.S. today lags behind many of its First World rivals in terms of mobility.”(See Frank Buckley). One source, which documents this, is the Economic Mobility Project. Here is a selection of this source’s mobility rankings: (the higher the score, the lower the mobility index):

While immigrants who move to America may initially experience upward mobility, most Americans born in the US no longer enjoy the high degree of upward intergenerational mobility which was the U.S.’s hallmark in the past. In other words, it is easier for Canadians, Australians and many Europeans to climb out of poverty and join the middle class (over one or two generations) than in the US.

A belief to the contrary persists both in the US and overseas. In fact, however, the American Dream is no longer a reality. Not only is inequality now far greater in America than in Western Europe. It is also more difficult to escape it through upward mobility.

As Nieman notes in chapter 3, there are many valid reasons why Americans should be proud. But being too proud, thinking that America is the best country in the world is often based on ignorance about the world outside. It leads to xenophobia and it opens the way for demagogues like Donald Trump.

If Trump becomes president in a few weeks (still a horrible possibility), Nieman will have to re-write his entire book. By no stretch of the imagination would it then be possible to think of America as a nice country.

But not to quibble: Rick Nieman’s overall message is wonderful. We abhor anti-Americanism, which is just another form of bigotry, and which has long been one of Europe’s favorite pastimes. Many of Nieman’s observations are true. It would be great if this little book were translated and available to American readers. It is refreshing to read a book that tries to rectify so many prejudices about America. As two expats, we have thoroughly enjoyed this book and we highly recommend it. leave comment here