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Working Life
North, South, Red, Blue
By Msako Yamada
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南部を旅して思う
アメリカ在住30年になる雅子さんはこれまで、ニュージャージー、マサチューセッツ、ニューヨークという、アメリカ北東部の3州で暮らしてきました。でも、社会人になってから、仕事などで南部に出かける機会が増え、同じアメリカでも北と南でずいぶん文化や考え方が違うということに気付き始めたのです。
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The year 2004 was a presidential election year and one of the most hotly discussed topics was "red states" vs. "blue states." Red states voted for George W. Bush. Blue states voted for John Kerry. After the election, newspapers printed maps of the States, where each state was colored according to its favored candidate: The map was a wide swath of red, with blue states clustered in the Northeast, along the West Coast, and in the urban Midwest.
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| 筆者は去年のクリスマスイブに、ニューオリンズの近くで開かれたたき火のイベントに参加した。高さ3メートル以上ある木組みにガソリンをかけて燃やすというものだったが… |
The United States is not a homogeneous country. It's true that no matter where one goes, one is bound to see near-identical highways, malls and town centers with near-identical stores and restaurants, but that does not mean that the patrons of these places share similar views.
I'ｖe lived in three blue states - New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York - and have long considered myself to be of Northeastern stock. It's hard to pinpoint what this means, but now that I'ｖe started traveling to the South, I'm getting some idea of what it doesn't mean.
Some cultural differences are easy to understand: food, architecture and speech. I'ｖe enjoyed the rich and spicy Cajun/Creole cooking of New Orleans and the grits and biscuits for breakfast in Alabama. I'ｖe seen grand antebellum mansions with sweeping staircases and imposing columns, as well as sad, run-down shacks of former slaves who broke their backs supporting the plantations. I'ｖe giggled upon hearing people say "Y'all" or "You'uns" or "Youse" - all forms of the word "you" that I'ｖe never uttered.
These factors, while interesting, are not as intriguing to me as the deep differences I'ｖe perceived in the notion of personal freedom and responsibility. Never before have I had the feeling that in the Northeast, citizens are protected - and bound - by laws. In the South, individuals have more personal freedom, but at higher risk.
For example, in both Alabama and Louisiana, I'ｖe seen many billboards advertising the sale of fireworks. New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York have some of the toughest anti-fireworks laws in the country, prohibiting general consumers from purchasing even sparklers. On Christmas Eve, my boyfriend and I attended a public bonfire event near New Orleans where wooden towers at least 3 1/2 meters high were built, then doused with gasoline, and set on fire. No warnings were given to passersby as flames shot up. Fireworks were lit that zoomed past people standing nearby. It was exciting, but undeniably dangerous, and we couldn't imagine such an event being held in Boston.
Similarly, we were shocked at the number of drive-through bars. That's right, there exist bars where one can drive up to a window, buy a cocktail, and drive away! Although it's apparently illegal to drink while driving, it's up to the individual to not get drunk and to not endanger others. Again, this is completely unheard of in the states in which I'ｖe lived.
The differences extend to the workplace, as well. Alabama and Louisiana are "Right to Work" states; New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York aren't. "Right to Work" means that citizens have the right to take a job without joining a local labor union. The individual decides whether or not to join.
Who would have thought that this concept extends even to personal finance? A colleague told me that when he bought his house in New York, there were at least three lawyers and countless other officials present when he signed the papers, but when he bought a home in the South, closing on the deal involved little more than a smile and a handshake.
I can't claim to know all the differences between the North and the South - much less the East and the West - and I certainly can't explain it in this small space. There's a lot more variety to the United States than Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks and Coca-Cola would lead us to believe. Even though I'ｖe lived in the United States for 30 years, as a dyed-in-the-wool Northeasterner, I have not yet scratched the surface of this diverse country.
Shukan ST: March 4, 2005
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