A High Five

            In my recent blog on my visit to Austria, I did not mention an incident that stuck in my mind and led me to thinking about things.

            One late afternoon I was standing on a corner in Salzburg waiting with fellow tourists for our tour bus. Nearby was a group of young school girls waiting for a local bus. They appeared to be only mildly curious about us, which is understandable in this city flooded with tourists at this time of year..

            I was wearing a tell-tale tourist get-up: shorts, collared shirt, sneakers, and a camera around my neck. But one of the girls noticed something else about me:  my favorite navy blue cap with the big, red "B" on the front. With the joy of recognition in her eyes, she walked up to me and pointed to my hat. "Boston Red Sox," she exclaimed. I nodded and smiled. Then she raised her right hand and slapped me a High Five.

            Citizens of Red Sox Nation are everywhere in this country. I'm used to having people recognize my hat, even in North Carolina. But I was surprised that it enabled me to make a connection with an Austrian school girl.

            This made me think about ways to connect with others, especially those who might not share my love of baseball, jazz, or history. I can think of any number of ways to break the ice with a stranger or with a new neighbor. But at the extreme end of the human spectrum, how would I connect with a jihadist who would kill me if he could? Or a drug dealer who would poison a child for profit? Or a trafficker in human slaves?       

            The inescapable fact is that there are a lot of bad people in this world. Connecting with them might be impossible. On the other hand, one might argue that there is some good in everyone, even in the face of utter depravity, corruption, and inhumanity. If one can choose evil, can't one also choose good?

            "Why can't we all get along?" asked Rodney King. Indeed, why can't the best and the worst of us find something to High-Five each other about, even if it's something as unimportant as a Red Sox cap? It would be a beginning.

            Can a Child show the way?

           

Tone-Deaf in Washington

            Is Washington completely tone-deaf?

            The country is broke, but Washington continues to spend more money than it takes in. The CBO estimates that our debt, which now equals 40% of GDP, will eclipse our entire economy in less than ten years. That means we will soon be bankrupt if we don't change our ways. Yet, here were recent headlines in our media:

            "Leading House Democrats Say Social Security Cuts Are a Non-Starter." And any suggestions to the contrary, I suppose, mean that Republicans want to shove grandma over the cliff.

            "Dems Call for Stimulus in Debt Deal." You gotta be kidding. After wasting close to a trillion dollars in Obama's first stimulus, Democrats want to spend more on programs like Cash for Clunkers? And that's even after Obama admitted, jokingly, that there had been fewer shovel-ready programs than he thought.

            "Lawmakers Grumble over Secret Biden Talks." Have we forgotten the backroom deal that shoved Obamacare down our throats? Already we hear that there won't be enough time to analyze the "Biden deal" before voting on raising the debt ceiling.

            "Families with Income up to $63,000 Eligible for Medicaid." Speaker Pelosi said we needed to pass Obamacare to find out what's in it. Well, now we're finding out.

            "The Tide of War Is Receding." The President is withdrawing 10,000 troops from Afghanistan this summer and another 30,000 next September when fighting is at its peak, but just in time to influence elections. The decision pleases nobody, not those who want us out of Afghanistan now, not the ones who want to stay as long as it takes to win, and certainly not the generals who have advised otherwise. Oh, but the Taliban is pleased, of course, to know what our plans are. Meanwhile, the war in Afghanistan is costing us $6.7 billion a month.

            "Jacob Zuma Snubs Michelle Obama." The First Lady is drawing raves from the mainstream media for her goodwill visit to Africa. But the President of South Africa had it right. He saw her trip for what it really was: another vacation (remember Mexico and Spain). Let's tell it like it is. The highlight of Michelle Obama's trip wasn't a meeting with Nelson Mandela, but a private safari in Botswana. Why else would she take along her daughters, her mother, and her nephew and niece, not to mention an entourage of aides and fawning media? And at what cost to the American taxpayer?

            Haven't we had enough of tone-deaf lawmakers in Congress and royal pretenders in the White House?

           

Lessons from Austria

            Travel abroad can be a great educational experience, especially when it opens our eyes to other cultures. On a recent trip that included a few days in Austria, I came away with some lasting impressions.

            I was struck by the apparent affluence of the population, no doubt fueled by an unemployment rate of 4.5%. Everybody who wants to work has a job. Austria has done some good things for its economy, like joining the European Union, which gave it free access to European markets, and privatizing industry, which has made the country more competitive.

            Austria's affluence shows. Vienna, the capital and largest city, is booming. Since 1990, when I last visited it, the city has added a ring of modern industrial complexes. But it is still the center of the city that reflects its vitality. Tourism represents 10% of Austria's economy, and Vienna has a major share of it, because it has so much to offer its visitors. Hotels, restaurants, hundreds of cafes offering a unique variety of coffees and pastries, museums, concert halls, parks, palaces, churches, and architectural wonders, all contribute to the city's appeal.

            Little things, too. Like a clean, modern subway system with electronic boards that show arrival times and intervals. Like clean streets that are closed to vehicular traffic after 10:30 in the morning. Like public toilets that are clean and free of loiterers (because you must pay a small fee to use them). Like bicycle lanes for a slim and trim population that frowns on indolence. I did see a few tattoos and some nose studs, but no sagging pants or knee-length T-shirts. I heard church bells and strains of Mozart and Strauss, but not a single vibrating boom box.

            Still, there are some disturbing signs: an aging population with a negative growth rate largely supplemented by Muslim immigration; labor unions that are dedicated to perpetuating unproductive work rules; a government addicted to socialist welfare policies; and an increasingly secular population that has seen a drop in churchgoers from 90% to under 40% in fifty years. I have to wonder if these are the seeds of self-destruction.

            On Austria's superb no-speed-limit highways, you can see one brand new car after another whizzing by at speeds up to and over 100 miles per hour. I wonder if this is not the perfect metaphor for a country enjoying the best of everything while waiting for a fatal crash to happen.

            We could learn something from that.