Get yer pitchforks! They’re a’coming for our blowjerbs!

It’s similar to me and my small collection of ex-wives.

I not long ago got off an international flight. The seatback screen rebooted randomly during said flight. According to the text displayed during the reboot sequence It was running android. Extrapolating that out to however many planes have a seatback entertainment system, that’s a lot of in-use android tablets.

I’m a) currently travelling in Europe, and b) not American. I have encountered plenty in the six weeks or so I’ve been here though. Right now I’m sitting on a riverboat that is about three quarters Americans.

I’ve found that some of the stereotypes are true. Mostly the Americans are loud. Some are loudly ignorant. Some make questionable choices - I’ve seen a few wearing the American flag on their clothes, or blatant bible references.

However, the vast majority of the Americans I’ve spent time talking to are embarrassed by the current political shenanigans. We’ve encountered a few in full throttle support, but it’s rare.

I’ve found the Canadians interesting. Most we’ve spoken with are avoiding visiting America and plan to do so for a few years yet. More than one has said they’re afraid an over zealous border guard would dent them entry, which would affect any travel plans for years into the future, so they’re not taking the chance. Sounds fair to me.

Are Americans abroad garbage? No, not all. Some are. But they do stand out like dog’s bollocks.

Money can cross borders pretty easily these days, but the rules and their application are inconsistent or misguided and so we get uneven or suboptimal results. Think differing tax outcomes, or ownership or difficulties in monitoring.

Goods can cross borders pretty easily these days too, notwithstanding what’s going on in the US recently, or the economic coercion other countries wield for their own purposes. My observations of various international trade agreements and disputes suggest to me that there’s a lot of politics and quid pro quo involved, rather than the agreement of common rules and effective methods to resolve disputes.

If we want free movement of people then we need global rules to keep it fair. Preferably rules that put the folks’ needs first. Otherwise it becomes a “I’m stronger than you, so I win” situation, which is pretty much how things work now. Rules are needed to settle who gets what rights and obligations so that we have a common framework to live together. And we need a decent system for determining those rules. And a just method of enforcing those rights and obligations. And an effective method for settling disputes. And an effective method for identifying when the rules don’t work and changing them. I don’t think that exists anywhere right now.

So, I’m not hopeful that removal of barriers to people crossing borders would be successful any time soon. There’s just so much societal glue that needs to be in place first. We’re just not very good at getting that agreed, set up and sustainable.

We have a bakery truck that drives around playing the ice cream truck music. Does that count?

Yep, I’m well aware that I’m privileged. I’m concerned about the world my kids will live in as they grow up.

This sounds like retirement.

Source: am retired