I Have Friends Everywhere

One of the great joys of traveling abroad is meeting people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life, whether it was Cornelius, the retired barrister from Rotterdam, Olga, the graduate student turned professional comedienne from Moscow, Marcello, the elementary school teacher moonlighting as a tour guide in Zurich, Laszlo, the genealogist from Budapest, or Dina, the college student turned artist from Genoa.

Our overseas trips to Korea, Italy, England, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Austria have all been culturally enriching by the numerous human connections we established over the years. This year, we were often asked:"Are you all okay over there?" or "Will you be all right?" in the face of the evolving fascist incursion perpetrated on the American people by the Trump regime.

Unlike many Americans, Europeans and Asians are not fooled by the ham-fisted narratives that Trump's band of pirates and cutthroats are pandering in the vast and furiously-paced construction of the new totalitarian regime. Of course, non-Americans aren't suckling at the teat of Fox News, either. They are clear-eyed and clear-headed enough to recognize an alarming authoritarian regime when they see one.

With that, I'd like to introduce you to a few of the  many wonderful people we met and befriended in our time in Germany, Austria and Italy this past summer. Naturally, all of them had something to say about the sad state of political affairs in America today, expressing sympathy for those citizens of the U.S. grappling with the impending demise of democracy.

Meet, Eugene (above) the night proprietor at the Hotel Duetsches Theatre in the heart of Munich where we stayed in 2011. Eugene, 92. is a native of Budapest who survived both the Nazis and their Soviet successors in Hungary. Discussing the trend toward authoritarianism in the U.S., he noted: "The oppressors always crumble from within." Then, he added with the wink and a smile: "Isn't his real name Drumpf?"

Meet Slim (above, front), our server at The Snitzelwirt Restaurant on the Karlsplatz in the heart of Munich's city center. Slim, 43, a native of Tunis, Tunisia, is not happy with the state affairs in the U.S. "My sister and her family live in Washington, D.C. I would love to pick up my mother in Tunis and visit the U.S. For now we will continue to meet in Tunis every year until that crazy man is long gone and forgotten."

Meet Gaia, the afternoon proprietor at the Hotel Bolzano B&B. Gaia, 24, is a graduate student at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano focusing on environmental sustainability. A rock climber, Gaia disapproves of the recent trend toward authoritarianism in the U.S. Her advice: "You're a former mountaineer. You should move to the mountains of Bolzano. Get out while you still can, before it's too late," she noted with a smile."

Everyone we met on our recent journey asked: "Will you be okay?" Their messages and themes were clear and their encouragement reminded me of dialogue from the recent Andor series written by Tony Gilroy: "There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this: freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction."

"Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly. There are whole armies that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the resistance is everywhere. Even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And remember this: the need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle."

"Oppression is the mask of fear. The day will come when these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the authority, and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break. Remember this: We fight to win. That means we lose. And lose and lose and lose, until we’re ready. All you know now is how much you hate (this situation). You bank that. You hide that. You keep it alive until you know what to do with it.”