Happy Birthday, America

[poliphilo]

Sometimes it can be comforting to look back. 

There was Senator Joe McCarthy- that was a shameful period of American history- with the US polity mirroring that of Stalin's Russia in staging show trials of intellectuals- but McCarthy got run out of town eventually.

And then there was Vietnam. 

And Watergate.

There's nothing the Bush administration has done- waging disastrous imperial wars,  corrupting the political life of the Republic- that hasn't been done before- and worse. America has these massive mood swings- and when she turns nasty the rest of the world cowers- but she always pulls herself right in the end.

I'm not an American, I'm not even particularly Americanophile, but I believe as a sober matter of fact that the USA is the single best political idea we (meaning human beings) have ever had. A Republic based on the values of the Enlightenment- how cool is that!

Of course America has done horrible things- which nation hasn't?- but she remains- because of the vision of her founding fathers-  "the last best hope of earth". 

That's a quote from Abraham Lincoln- the nearest the dirty profession of politics has ever come to producing a saint.

So, happy birthday, America,

You'll get over these recent set-backs-

Of course you will.

Comments

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Tony.

As for political saints, I feel that any president that swears to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States" and, to the best of their ability, actually does so is in some measure a saint.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Good point.

Some remarkable men have held that office (and some sadly unworthy ones too).

But Lincoln is special.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

I've been surprised to learn, given the political atmosphere of the 21st century, how many Europeans still feel this way. I personally felt had similar thoughts about Britain for a long time. I had this very romanticized vision of it as the seat of Western civilization.

But I think now that countries are just groups of people, with their own biases, language and culture. They aren't ideas. If a country is just an idea, it's worthless. It's the meat that counts, not the moral.

[jenny_evergreen]

Well said.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think America is more of an idea than most nations- because it's not a cloudy thing. It was created by a particular group of people at a particular time with a very particular collection of ideals.

If you ask what England stands for it's hard to know where to start looking, but with America it's different; because you've got the Constitution.

Well...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

It's only 7AM here in the old U.S. of A... and I was just beginning to contemplate what I would say today. One needs to say something on a day like this one but I'm a bit of a rebel and never a "flag waver", perish the thought.

And you have just said exactly what I would have said after several hours of deliberation... though probably not quite as well.

So... thank you dear Tony for making my day. I will now shamelessly reprint every single word in my own journal... crediting my wise old friend in the UK, of course. Thank you so much!

Re: Well...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome.

And I'm honoured.:)

[jenny_evergreen]

I hope it does. It's such a messy place, this country, very scrabbling and squabbling and confused and the hugeness makes that dangerous for everyone, so everyone, inside and out, ends up trying to keep the mad giant standing and hoping no one else gets squished if it falls.
There's a reason children are small, I think, but nothing to do now but try to manage somehow...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You're coming to the end of an era that has seen America's international prestige slump woefully. Plenty of reason for hope!

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

There was a period of time a few years ago that I was in Canada on vacation. Canadians and Americans look much the same, and I got to eavesdrop on some conversations about 'us' that I found downright embarrassing. But when I listened closely, they weren't really about my country, they were about That Man in the White House that I did NOT elect.

Thank you, Tony, for these nice words. I am maybe not the most patriotic of people, I think a lot of things are wrong with this country but you know, I'm still a citizen. And I'm glad to know that there are still people like you who can say this kind of thing so well.

P.S. I'm going to link to this.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We love American culture- TV, movies, music. We admire all sorts of things about you- including (in theory) your political system.

Sympathy for America was at an all time high after 9/11. And then "that man" squandered it.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Tony. Even though I'm an expat with a lot of European ideas and attitudes, I still feel closely linked to my birth country in many ways. I appreciate your words fully and indeed, hope they're prophetic.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

"I hope they're prophetic"

Me too.

It does no harm to hope.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

Thank you Tony! No one could have said that better than you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[bodhibird.livejournal.com]

Thank you, my dear sir, for this very cheering and comforting post. There've been times when I've been tempted to write your government and ask to be taken back as a colony, and the last eight years have been pretty bad. When you see a young Scotsman from Edinburgh say on YouTube that he'd like to see Obama in the White House, you know it's bad. Thank you--it's good to know that people abroad care about us.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We care a lot. Our future is very closely tied to yours. There's a very real sense in which the US government is our government too.

[internet-sampo.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You're welcome :)

[cataptromancer.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sir.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My pleasure. :)

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I sure hope so.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's been a dark time in American history. No harm in hoping that things will improve.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kindness. I wish it were/could be true. I wish there were medication for a bi-polar government to even the ebbs and flows...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

"bi-polar government". I like that.

Or rather, I don't like it- if you see what I mean.

[sculptruth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do! lol And I agree. It makes for a confusing socio-political situation.

I do appreciate your optimism. Maybe if we Americans were more optimistic we would work harder towards change, rather than wallow in cynicism. Perhaps I should take a cue. :)

[pecosbill.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Well said.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Cheers.

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for offering a positive assessment of my country. It's rare anymore.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

America still has great potential for good.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Once again your wisdom and insights are right on. Thank you for the "Happy Birthday" wishes. I AM celebrating today, albeit in a state of confusion. Our Democrat candidate is doing so many about-faces on his platform that I cannot help but wonder if there will indeed be any difference between him and the Republican.
And -- if things keep trending the way they are, I wonder if we are in for "four more years".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Obama seems hell-bent on negating all the qualities that made him such an outstanding and attractive candidate. It's a terrible shame. It's as though- faced with the really big challenge- his courage is failing him.

The more I learn about McCain, the less I like him. Still, I doubt if he'd make as thoroughgoingly incompetent a president as Bush.

Obama's "move to the center"

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

I too have been alarmed and seriously disheartened by Obama's apparent change of tone, at least until I read a piece by Al Giordano, entitled Smart Dissent. The entire piece bears reading, but perhaps the gist of his argument might be quoted here:

Among the baggage from the Clinton era of Democratic Party politics is this narrative about a nominee “moving to the center”. I myself have a hard time breaking out of it, even though I know it's generally bullshit, and here's why: I have reported the campaigns of hundreds of candidates in the US and elsewhere, and for a number of years in my reckless youth I worked inside of political campaign staffs. And there's one thing that is evident from that experience: What a candidate says while seeking office has little to no bearing on his or her actions upon obtaining that office.

Too many progressive activists suffer from the illusion that if they leverage a candidate during a campaign that getting him or her to say one thing or another will later translate into policy. … I can find very few examples of that in the campaigns I've covered, and plenty of evidence to the contrary. Candidates that clipped to the right turned out to govern quite progressively. Candidates that tacked to the left governed more conservatively, sometimes to authoritarian extremes. A thousand issue organizations and interest groups tell their members to send them money and portray themselves as those who are policing the politicians and leveraging campaign seasons to do it, but their track record producing results from those politicians is abysmal.

I cannot disagree with his logic and, given his years of effective activism and the fact that Giordano's political views are well to the left of most Democrats in this country, I feel that if Al doesn't worry about the Democratic candidate's rhetorical jog to the right, then neither should I. What comes out of Obama's mouth between now and November does not matter, so long as it ensures that he takes the oath of office come January.

Seems a bit tawdry and cynical, but then politics is a tawdry business and I think at this point in history winning the White House is more important than being politically correct. Whatever he or his supporters might claim to the contrary, there is every reason to believe that McCain, if elected, will serve out Bush's “third term” in office. It will be more of the same and worse, probably far worse. Forgive me, but I should much rather support an Obama who is effectively gaming the system, stealing the votes of independents and moderate Republicans right from under his opponent's nose, than support some beautiful loser. I think the last thing we need right now is a candidate who'd rather be morally superior and lose than sully himself, suffering the slings and arrows of his more idealistic supporters, and actually win the race.

Apologies for the lengthy response, but I so desperately want the white hats win one, for a change.

Re: Obama's "move to the center"

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that. It makes a lot of sense.

Here in Britain we elected a Labour government in '97- and it went on to pursue an agenda that was more right-wing and cravenly neo-conservative and in thrall to big business than any conservative government would have dared to be. So, yes, what it says on the label is not necessarily what's in the can.