London, GB | Formerly of New York, Buenos Aires, Fife, and the Western Cape. | Saoránach d’Éirinn.

Hic mihi patria est

The Fourth of July, we are told, is a day for celebrating the love of one’s country. Robert Harrington and I were sitting around one evening when we decided to found a guerrilla group. First, it needed a name; Front pour la libération de notre terre sacrée Amérique (or the FLNTSA) was a runner-up but we settled on the Village Green Preservation Society. Frowning upon the camouflage fatigues of most groups of this nature, we decided that our uniform would consist of tweed jackets, flat caps, and balaclavas.

But as our conversation continued we discovered, to our chagrin, that though we thought we were both from the United States of America, we were actually from entirely different countries. Robbo’s country is the nicer, rather horsey part of New Jersey near Princeton, whereas my homeland is mostly the part of New York between the Hudson and the Sound. We discovered we were fighting for the preservation of entirely different Village Greens, and that ma terre sacrée Amérique was entirely different from sa terre sacrée Amérique.

This is one of the problems of a “country” as large as the United States. I love my country, but what do I care about Montana or Texas or Alaska? I wish them well, to be sure, but they hardly seem to have much to do with my country. I once started to read a scaremongering article about the growing Mexicanization of California but I had to put it down after a few paragraphs because it didn’t seem to be anything I had to worry about. If southern California secedes and tries to join Mexico, well good for them! I’ll send them a bottle of champagne and get back in my hammock.

In The Napoleon of Notting Hill, Chesterton wrote:

The patriot never under any circumstances boasts of the largeness of his country, but always, and of necessity, boasts of the smallness of it.

In that spirit, I present to you below a map of my country, from Sleepy Hollow in the north, to Governors Island in the south. It is a mere approximation, as the borders are both indefinite and ever-shifting. Though highly populated, it is a bit on the small side, and I think I agree with Chesterton that that’s a good thing.

Published at 6:58 pm on Friday 4 July 2008. Categories: New York Tags: , .
Comments

I see you are not terribly fond of the West Bank no-go areas of the Bronx or Brooklyn. It almost sort of looks like a map of Israel, though with a much more populated Gaza Strip!

I agree small is better. One of the unmitigated disasters to Europe and mankind in general was surely Bismarck’s confederation of Germany. The Iron Chancellor did us and the Old Order no favours by creating such an uncontainable behemoth.

Part of the success of the vast British Empire on the other hand, was the creation of its many self-governing components, which in effect became a kind of home away from home.

— The Monarchist 5 Jul 2008 10:14 am

In midtown recently, having identified my Southern accent and upon learning that I live in SOUTH-eastern Tennessee, a native Manhattanite inquired, “And how are things ‘out West’?”
Andrew, you are not alone!

— jedesto 5 Jul 2008 4:02 pm

We in the Midwest would wish you well on your secessionist adventures. This country is perhaps too big for its own good. It is as if we have several countries within one set of borders. Who knows how it will turn out.

— Julius 6 Jul 2008 6:10 am

You have by now certainly realized — post publication of course — that your paragraph 2 should read: “…ma terre sacree d’Amerique..” and “sa terre sacree d’Amerique..” I agree the French have a screwed up language. But there it is!!

— Andrew Heath 7 Jul 2008 6:55 pm

Well, we are a Federal Republic composed of 50 sovereign states. The “sovereign” part means we are, really, several different countries within one set of borders. That was kind of the whole idea in the first place.

— Fr. Guy Selvester 16 Jul 2008 7:47 am
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