Reflections on my travels

It was a trip that was a work in progress from start to finish! Home exchanges in Vancouver and Toronto were followed by an unexpected but welcome opportunity to spend time with son and grandson in New York City and Boston. 

A conference in NYC on ‘Academic Freedom’ and a stopover for our grandson in our home exchange condo in Toronto was the start to a shared exploration of New York City and Boston, American cities stark in contrast but linked by a Presidency that is as unpredictable as it is chilling. 

As we walked and talked on the footpaths, in diners, cafes, restaurants, buses and subways and in museums with the alternative and compelling views of artists exploring what it is to be human, we discovered in conversations and engagements with locals that there was still a sense of ‘hope and freedom’ despite the overshadowing of distress and despair. 

There is clearly a crisis in capitalism and democracy resulting in homelessness and hopelessness that confronts New York City. The bright  lights, the pulsating billboards and the vibe does not hide the inequality. But one never feels unsafe or threatened. It’s loneliness that inhabits the streets. 

Boston seems to have inoculated itself from the pitfalls and sustained and retained an urban quality that it has become renowned. 

On the west coast LA is city ithreatened  by the National Guard and the Marines and the heavy hand of autocracy and from within for its own inequities and injustices 

Security guard patrols are ever present on the subway and downtown reflects a disbanded commercial centre. But again it’s safe and sorrowful rather than intimidating. Mobility has been enhanced by separating cars  from mass transit and pedestrians. Freeways run deep into the city’s fabric and trains move underground or through the air. It’s a dense but ever expanded metro city. 

We’ve been alerted to the vibe, the vision, the frustrations, the fervour and the fight that will dominate America’s political, social and cultural life over coming years. 

But it’s a fight we all share. 

We have to stand up to Trump and those that coat tail on his power for profit and self aggrandisement. His threat to us is palpable.  He is usurping the role of our government through threatening and bullying tactics.  We need to have our government resist his demands.