Who are we? Manfred Shreyer sets off to find out

Writer-photographer Manfred Schreyer left his home in east Las Cruces on Inauguration Day to begin a year-long journey to listen to the stories of people in every part of the continental United States.

“We all have something we want to talk about,” he said. “I want to see what’s out there.”

Schreyer will search for the truth about America in 2021, as he travels the length and breadth of the country. He will blog throughout his travels and, at journey’s end, plans to write a book and produce a documentary film of “who we are as a nation” that he can sell to Netflix or Showtime.

It’s not by chance that Schreyer is traveling at one of the most difficult periods in American history.

“It’s sad to see it disintegrate into an abyss,” he said. “I just love this country. You can only really appreciate it if you’ve been somewhere else.”

Schreyer, a native of Germany, was a high school exchange student to the U.S. in 1975-76, and immigrated here in 1984. After visiting the area on motorcycle trips, he moved to Las Cruces from Ohio more than three years ago.

Schreyer said he plans to present a nonpartisan view of the opinions he hears about where America is and where it is going. He’ll be asking about education, religion, poverty, health care and politics, among other topics. And when he has heard someone’s thoughts on these wide-ranging topics, a constant follow-up question will be, “How do you come to that conclusion?”

“I want to understand,” Schreyer said. “I think that’s what is missing on all issues. We don’t talk. We don’t have common ground.”

A freelance photojournalist and web designer – he’s the owner of Mirage Art Photography – Schreyer has been to 46 countries and worked in many major cities.

“We all want the same thing. We want to live in peace,” he said. “In the end, we are good people.”

Schreyer outfitted a 15-passanger van for his travels, complete with a bed, computer workspace, electricity (including a 110-volt outlet), refrigerator-freezer and even a portable flush toilet. The exterior of the van sports a 2019 photo that Schreyer took of the Organ Mountains. Attaching the photo to the van was the work of Elite Car Wrap of Las Cruces, one of Schreyer’s trip sponsors.

 Other sponsors include Las Cruces Horse Motel and Boarding, Enchanted Sun Realty, Di Mora Farmers Insurance Agency, Kasual Urban Wear, Blues artist Bob Dellaposta and artist Natalie Abbott, along with many private sponsors from across the USA.

Schreyer will begin his travels with a trip through southwest New Mexico, Arizona and California, and then back through Las Vegas, Nevada, to Las Cruces. He plans to travel for three weeks and return to Las Cruces for a week throughout the year, except during far-distant travels to the East Coast and the Deep South.

Visit www.mirageartphotography.com. You can buy an Experience America 2021 tee shirt on the website, and, if you wish, donate to Schreyer’s travel fund. You can follow his blog from the website and subscribe to his weekly newsletter.