To North Carolina

A couple of things struck me on our drive to North Carolina. They form an excuse for a little photo essay.

1.

It looks innocuous doesn't it - a mere road sign? But it leads to the site of the first battle of the Civil War.


2. In keeping with other photographs of culinary oddities, I include this plaque on the side of a building in Durham:

The building is now being converted into lofts.

3. Call me dense, but it took me a few minutes to work out that the geezer in the hose had to be Sir Walter Raleigh.

 
4. And of course, there are the other little footnotes of history you come across in places like this:

Henry Clay apparently wrote his letter opposing the annexation of Texas under the oak tree in the background. Some think his position cost him the presidency.

Liberty

In Washington, the seat of government, my thoughts turn to the concept of 'liberty'.

There are those who pursue the idea of liberty down to questioning the need for a Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA ('more Washington', 'more regulation'). And yet, there is always a point where even the most libertarian politician will call a halt to all-out freedom. It might be a woman's right to choose, it might be gay marriage...


There always seems to be a point where even Liberty's staunchest advocates tolerate some hemming in. In the Declaration of Independence, 'liberty' shares its keynote clause with 'life' and 'the pursuit of happiness'. In the Constitution, as a keyword search tells me, 'liberty' appears only once along with a whole list of other aims. In Gouvernor Morris's great words: 'to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty...'

I suppose 'liberty' is better suited to a clarion call than some of the other aims. After all, Patrick Henry did not cry, 'Give me general Welfare or give me death,' or 'Give me happiness or give me death.' But it would be interesting to find out how liberty came to be almost exclusively the only virtue.

Of course, there is a lot of wriggle room to achieve liberty in. In a country like Australia, where we have far more government intervention, an atheist, red-haired, unmarried woman who lives with her boyfriend can become Chief Executive.

There's a boat that's momentarily delayed

There are other things to mention about New York.

I think the people are what truly make it. New Yorkers have a reputation for unfriendliness. I haven't found it so. In fact I found them helpful. And what I love most is the way they try to shape a conversation, round it off, end with a witticism or crack. It's always entertaining.

I walked past some guys on a corner in Harlem and had to chuckle as I caught one of them saying to the others: 'Just 'cos yo' name William don't mean yo' English'.