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Rebranding America
October 23, 2008 | Posted by Londonstani - 9:25am | 127 Comments
In Londonstani's world there's little worse than an overpaid French or Italian banker complaining about British food and weather while living in London and paying less tax than at home. In the same vein, he likes to avoid complaining about U.S. politics, when he doesn't have to have U.S. politicians in charge of him. However, he's making an exception in the case of this NYT op-ed on how a President Obama might change global perceptions of America because .. well, when you talk about "global perceptions" you mean us, non-Americans.
Kristof hits the nail on the head when he says; "Remember that the one thing countless millions of people around the world "know" about the United States is that it is controlled by a cabal of white bankers and Jews who use police with fire hoses to repress blacks. To them, Mr. Obama's rise triggers severe cognitive dissonance"
No matter how rich and industrialised China and India become, they don't have a national ideal. They don't stand for anything on the world stage, or even pretend to. The U.S. has freedom, good governance and equality. Yes, many, if not most of the rest of the world, thinks the U.S. hasn't lived up to those ideals. But the idea that they are there and should be lived up to is powerful and real enough to make U.S. politicians have to acknowledge them, to their domestic audience as much to the foreign one.
While reporting round the world, Londonstani has often gotten the impression that anger at the United States is often stoked by the idea that the U.S. has not lived up to its own ideals. If China was screwing you over, you'd probably expect it.
I know that a black American president who came from humble beginnings will challenge perceptions in the Middle East in the same way a white president from a privileged background reinforced them.
For some people, not just hardcore extremists, America defines their identities in reverse. In other words, they model themselves on being the opposite of America, which is why Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo are so devastating for the U.S.'s political capital. But where does that leave them if America lives up to the best of its ideals.
So, yeah, if I was you lot, I'd vote for him.
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