Visiting the Swing States

We are getting ready to leave, we made a list of things to take with us, e.g. First Aid Kit, we are trying to be economical with clothes, especially considering that we are crossing different climate zones. Excited to visit most of the swing states, Pensilvania, Michigan, Wisconsin (it will be cold), Nevada and Arizona (it will be hot), the only 2 swing states we are missing are North Carolina and Georgia.

I booked a few meetings already, e.g. in New York, in the Bronx my agent will take me to meet a group of Italo Americans who have become Trump supporters, another friend will brief me on a group which is very close to Kennedy and now is leaning towards Trump. It seems that most of the swing voters are discussing if they will or not vote for Trump. I doubt that the Kamala Harris shocking declaration to be a gun holder and to be prepared to shoot an intruder in her house, declaration she made during Oprah's show, will make the right wing swing voters thing about voting her instead of Trump, but I may be wrong. I will know more once I am in gun-land, the Mid-West.

I must confess that for the first time in my life the thought of crossing a continent awash with weapons makes me a bit nervous. I have been in war zones, I have interviewed members of armed organisations and, of course, I was a student during the Anni di Piombo, when Italy was in the grip of right and left wing terrorism, but these were different situations. What worries me is the irrationality behind American shootings, people wake up, grab a gun and shoot people in different locations, in shopping malls, cinemas, schools, at the bus stop or in a supermarket. Against this background you are constantly vulnerable.

And then there is the police. Yesterday during a conference call with my friends we discuss what to do if the police stops us while driving. We should not leave the car and make our hands visible. We are all conscious of the many dangers we may face, crossing America today is not as safe as it may have been when we were in our twenties. But is it really the case? Remembering Easy Rider one could say that the US has always had that veneer of danger, and perhaps this is what makes crossing it feel like a real adventure.