(Episode 77) (20/9/2025) I first landed on American soil in 1983 at the age of 33 and instantly fell in love with the country. I spent nearly four years in a small university town in Ohio with my wife and son, studying for my doctorate in history as well as teaching. The more I saw of the country and its people and came into contact with its high educational standards, work ethic, and its rich social life, the more my fascination grew.
My wife and I made many friends. In two road trips, we travelled from the east coast to the west coast of this vast country. I have visited the US for short periods a few more times since then, including as recently as in January last year. On one such trip, my wife and I drove about 10,000 km through 20 states. The more I saw the more I understood why much of the rest of the world is captivated by America, the beauty and bounty of the land matched by the opportunities it offers its people, why, given a chance, tens of millions of people from all around the world would like to make the United States their home.
But overseas, the US has been guilty of many a transgression, to put it mildly. By far the least comprehensible has been Washington’s unquestioned “iron-clad” support for Israel’s apartheid regime, its numerous acts of discrimination and oppression of the Palestinian people, usurpation of Palestinian land, and aggression against its neighbours. But I will return to this in a moment.
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