If Only They Didn't Speak English: Notes From Trump's America

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There are other mildly interesting sections on access to medical help (little new here), pharmaceutical advertising (something I witnessed myself and was staggered by on a recent visit) and the American view on what the state should do for individuals versus what they should take responsibility for themselves.

To talk about a wish for the future or to show a contrast between how things are and how we would like them to be, we use if only + would + infinitive without to: Through music, film, literature, TV and even through the food we eat and the clothes that we wear we all have a highly developed sense of what America is and through our shared, tangled history we claim a special relationship. But America today feels about as alien a country as you could imagine. It is fearful, angry and impatient for change. They only lean towards the left-wing causes, which don't adversely affect the corporations e.g. LGBT, Racism, Feminism. Forget about left-wing causes which aren't profitable, like workers rights, healthcare for the poor & anti-war movements.

Summary

There is huge debate within the BBC over this. If timidity is what we choose in the end – and I’m sure it won’t be – that would be a wrong judgment. We’ve got to be bold. If I feel something is right, I think we’ve got to say it. For Jon Sopel, the phenomenon of Donald Trump is the greatest thing that could ever have happened to him, commercially. Jon Sopel is a Trump beneficiary, (regardless of his personal views, which as a BBC man he was careful to moderate and code). This is the reason that Trump is likely to return for a second term (Sopel’s view): A divisive figure he may be, but for those that are benefiting from his Presidency (look at the USA economy, for now), the foibles of the man, the fascination he induces, are well worth indulging if/when personal gain are consequent. journalist integrity. They are not in the job of opposing Trump, and it should not be necessary for the journalist corps to have police protection. Jon's narrative is excellent and it's like listening to a much extended news cast (and I mean that in the best possible way). It's clear, concise with the odd turn of humour that makes it not only very easy to listen to, but also very easy to digest and understand.

The USA as a whole hardly knows UK exists, but Westminster politicians have talked up the "special relationship" for decades. I personally think the US is a fantastic country, and still do, but this book made me realise that we here in the UK have much more in our common with our cousins on the continent, than we do with our cousins on the other side of the pond. Of course, as Sopel highlights, the fundamental difference between European and American thinking is this individualistic sense of opportunity in the States, which has caused a stark divide up to this century. The last couple of chapters did feel a bit too Trump heavy and Sopel's self-proclaimed impartiality may have slightly been eroded, but that cannot shake the overwhelmingly informative and highly interesting narrative of the book overall.

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So you're copying stories from news networks like CNN & MSNBC, whose anchors “can barely conceal their contempt”, and you're impartial. It was obviously incredibly uncomfortable. I’m much happier reporting the news than making it. I found the whole thing ghastly on a personal level. I was quietly minding my own business – I had no idea what other people earned – and then suddenly I was in the spotlight. I hated it. I haven’t said a word about any of this before. So far as Carrie went, I thought: her fight is with the BBC, not me; I’ll leave her to fight it, which she did effectively. The conversation with John Humphrys was nuts. John is a big figure. I’m quite a senior journalist, but [when you’re with him], you are in the court of King John. If you listen, you can hear that I’m trying to shut it down. I’m thinking: stop it, stop it. I was in Washington at 11.30 at night, about to go to bed, and suddenly I was thrown a curve ball. a) exploring the myriad and profound ways in which America is different to the UK, despite the common language (attitudes to guns, god, and government for a start); Note: I think the title is wrong on this entry. The picture of the book is correct and matches my ISBN, but the title does not match the ISBN (nor the picture). A chapter about the NRA, "unarguably the most powerful lobbying organisation in the United States". If they're so powerful, I'm surprised that Sopel is allowed to criticize them. [8]

Jon Sopel tries to explain the madness of Trump's America with an elegant sense of stoic bewilderment. Brilliant Emma Kennedy, Actress, Writer and Broadcaster IMO, our mindset as humans is much governed by our early education- Australians in UK will find chasms of unexpected misunderstanding, as Scots in England & vice versa)

Sopel shares some of his own (weirdly liberal) racist views, implying that ethnic minorities are too dumb to apply for photo ID. The truth is that you need ID for everything in America (except voting, in some states). Everyone has photo ID, except for young people (who could easily apply for it) and a few ancient people who don't even have birth certificates.

This research coupled with his own observations of the daily lives of the Americans around him... and paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, all those Americanisms which I struggled to fathom suddenly started to make sense - the mistrust of government; the idea that you yourself are responsible for your own wellbeing and safety; the absolute belief in the American Dream and hey presto - you begin to understand the obsession with guns, the resistance to an NHS style health care, and even the popularity of religion when you realise it's sold in the oh-so-flambouyantly-unique capitalist manner. A dangerous chapter to comment on, but it amuses me that he doesn't understand the term person of colour. Here's a clue Jon, it includes people from Mexico e.g. the Oscar winner for Best Director, 2015. From our cuisine and to our literature, to our fashion and our music, there is no escape from the beast that is the United States of America. If Sopel’s book does have a weakness, it is one that is unavoidably shared these days with almost everything written about America and Americans. So I've been given a lecture about the dangers of fake news, followed by an example of the BBC spreading it.Sopel does have positive comments about US. He doesn't dismiss Trump voters as "learning disabled" but suggests some rationale for their enthusiasm. Wait, what happened in Libya? Why would anyone think Hillary was to blame? Just for laughs, try counting the number of times that Sopel uses the word "Libya". The answer is zero, nil, nada (I'm not counting the quote from the NRA nutjob). Well it can't be important then. It's not like it was the worst mistake of the Obama presidency or anything. [3] Much has been written about the latent anger among the white working class men, badly affected by globalisation and the transfer of their jobs overseas, and Donald Trump's genius for tapping into that anger and exploiting it. If any CIA agents are reading this, I'm not implying that Hillary pushed for intervention in Libya (because I don't want to be added to the Clinton kill list).