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Monday 21 May 2012

America! Yay!

Tuesday, 23rd March 2010

Protesting against HCR and BHO. Photo: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

It's a commonplace to argue that the battle for helth care reform has not been an especially edifying time for American politics. And granted, there's been plenty of craziness and a degree of legislative jiggery-pokery that has not done much to increase the public's faith in Congress. But this misses the point. I think.

Washington is a place of sweaty knavery but it's also home to an almost touching measure of idealism. The Tea Partiers have their kooky side but, as Matt Steinglass points out, they're quintessentially American. More significantly their protests - regardless of what one thinks of the merit of their cause - remind one that the arguments over what sort of country America has been, is and should be in the future never quite end. The American Idea is always up for grabs.

That is, there's a vitality about American public discourse that is, in the end, an optimistic demonstration of faith in the power of politics and, more generally, human endeavour. Towards a more perfect union for sure, but what kind of union?

In one sense, yes, happy the land that has no need for politics but there's little comparison between the passions aroused by the big issues in America and the feebleness of debate in this country. (Americans sometimes forget this, mistaking the entertainment at Prime Ministers' Questions for real debate.)

All that helps contribute to the grand guignol aspect of American politics that makes it such compelling viewing for the rest of us. This, I think, is an aspect of American leadership that is sometimes overlooked. For all the talk of relative decline in the 21st century it's going to be a long time before Chinese politics becomes as interesting to the lay follower, far less surpasses the fascination of the still-running great American experiment. Language and culture and history explain much of that, but not all of it.

There was another rally in Washington on Sunday that helps illustrate the point. Thousands marched on the Mall to call for Congress to act on immigration reform. Again, your views of the merits of the discussion matter less than the vibrancy of the argument itself. Here too we witness the United States - half a continent! - wrestling with real and big ideas about what it means to be an American and what it may mean in the future.

Lobbying has a bad reputation, but these thousands, like those protesting against health-care reform were there to petition Congress too, reminding the legislature that the people are out there and demanding that their voices be heard. They were, in that sense, testifying before Congress too and, for all that their faith may be disappointed, exercising their republican right to a hearing.

That's America for you: a great seething mass of humanity in all its sillyness and occasional nobility. A place where, at its best, all things do remain possible and a country which refuses, psychologically speaking, to accept the closing of the frontier. That's the America that matters and, I trust, the America that will endure.

So, sure, you could look at a year of grinding health-care debate, some of it tedious and some of it ridiculous, and complain that this shows how broken American politics is. But I think it may actually be the other way round: the system is neither irretrievably nor fundamentally broken and the United States, by dint of history and diversity, remains the great experimental, democratic melting pot.

The sad day - the day when we'll know something really has changed - is when big stuff happens in Congress and no-one cares. Happily that prospect still seems some way off.

Protestors demanding immigration reform. Photo: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

Filed under: Americana (478 more articles) , Britain (737 more articles)

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Conservative Cabbie

March 23rd, 2010 11:42am Report this comment

Spot on Alex.

I've just started reading Tocqueville's Democacy In America - not much has changed between 1831 and now.

DavidDP

March 23rd, 2010 11:44am Report this comment

On the other hand, the constitutional knowledge on display, or lack of it, is worrying.

dearieme

March 23rd, 2010 12:23pm Report this comment

"it's going to be a long time before Chinese politics becomes as interesting to the lay follower": that rather depends on whether they revert to Warring Kingdoms. With nukes, that could be fascinating.

THX1138

March 23rd, 2010 5:17pm Report this comment

The Tea Partier in the picture looks lika a nutter!

Beefeater

March 23rd, 2010 5:42pm Report this comment

Well. Ahem. Or should I say, aw shucks. Or you jus' yankin' the doodle?

Jefferson Smith

March 23rd, 2010 7:47pm Report this comment

The two possible lessons described here -- that America is a great, seething mass of turbulent humanity engaged in an ongoing experiment, and that its political system is a frighteningly dysfunctional 18th-century fossil -- are not mutually exclusive. The one thing that Americans do NOT experiment with in any serious way is their political system, and the result is not only that we're stuck with a system ill-suited to modern, party-based mass politics, but that every big political question threatens to become a constitutional crisis, with the minority (as we've seen these last few days and weeks) claiming that normal policymaking, conducted by the party that won the last two national elections and in line with that party's longtime promises, is "Armageddon," "the end of freedom," the destruction of the Constitution (as in the sign pictured here) and so on, and with threats of violence beginning to seep into mainstream discussion. The whole thing has blown to pieces before and could do so again.

zhak

March 23rd, 2010 8:26pm Report this comment

You realize that Congress passed, with barely a murmur from ANYONE, a bloated "defense" bill of over 700 billion dollars? Does that qualify for your definition of "big"?

I think America would be far better off if her inhabitants paid attention to what happens at the federal level of governance (only a tiny percentage pay any attention, you know). & America would be a lot better off if "defense" spending was drastically cut, though that'll probably never happen.

Stephen Laudig

March 23rd, 2010 8:50pm Report this comment

"helth care reform". The problem isn't in the Senate. The problem is the Senate.

fleety3000

March 23rd, 2010 9:00pm Report this comment

Spot on Alex..
It helps that the bill passed. If it didn't the argument would be that America can't solve any big problems.

Miss the US

March 24th, 2010 2:00am Report this comment

Interesting post. Having lived in the US for 12 years, I have to say I miss a lot of the debate of British politics, both in the House of Commons and in the UK media. The lack of a debate tradition allows many assertions and memes to go unchallenged in the US. Politicians get away with reciting rote talking points that are just inflammatory. However, what I think is under-appreciated in the UK, is the high level engagement in city, county and state politics in the US. I think because political and government power is much less centralized, local elections are both more consequential and more vibrant than in Britain. There is a sense of empowerment at the local level here that I have not seen in Europe.

Brittanicus

March 24th, 2010 5:16am Report this comment

No Amnesty, No Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). They keep repeating the--SAME TIRED NUMBER--but the US border Patrol in just the Tuscon sector, expressed, "Only one out of ten is caught." The Tucson sector Border Patrol union local 2544 on the number of illegal aliens in our nation: "There are currently 15 to 20 million illegal aliens in this country by many estimates, but the real numbers could be much higher and the numbers increase every day because our borders are not secure (NO MATTER WHAT THE POLITICIANS TELL YOU-DON'T BELIEVE THEM FOR ONE SECOND) Said a Spokesman for the Border Patrol. "Our illegal immigration numbers are based on an estimated twenty million illegal aliens having been present in our nation as of -JANUARY 1, 2004."almost four million people crossed our borders illegally 2002" end of quote. Other experts on the subject agree that illegal crossings have only increased since then. Please don't believe my numbers? Go to the US Census Bureau and read we could have a population of 438 million people by 2040, unless we halt this travesty for good?

Americans cannot afford 10 million more families. Foreign nationals are very knowledgeable at cheating the IRS and the US taxpayer. They can even get child credits for their children, either not in America or in some other country. Once those here receive appropriate green cards they can then sponsor immediate family member, including people with infirmities as long as they are financial sponsored. But this is a joke, because once here the law--IS NOT ENFORCED. They then become public charges. They can collect Supplementary Security income (SSI) and other benefits. The number can never be truly calculated? Even the US Census will be off the mark, because hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions will stay silent. Now the number of illegal immigrants who have no intention of renewing their entry visa, or have slipped past the Border Patrol (Canada and Mexico, South American countries and islands) must be deported.

We need professional and highly skilled workers, but not desperate uneducated, non-or semi-skilled. We have millions of Americans and legal residents in that category. Guest workers for farms and agriculture, but they must stay in that job until their visa expires. No options!.Then go home? California the SANCTUARY STATE, ARIZONA & NEW YORK have been bled dry.

The true estimate of foreign nationals in America is somewhere between 20 and 30 million? If AMNESTY is forced through the numbers will skyrocket, as countless numbers will be ready to bridge the border, just before President Obama signs the new reform. (with the females and kids this would amount to 40-50 million people) on welfare, in subsidized housing, food stamps, WIC, more teachers, covered by Medicaid and other payments. They will not be paying any taxes because of the EIC and Child Tax credits will reimburse them. The IRS does not follow up on this type of fraud? This is a cruel trick on every honest taxpayer is this first generation of newly legalized immigrants, could escalate with thousands bring in brothers, sisters, Mothers and Fathers. By the year 2040 the population of America could be unsustainable with limited resources, water shortages, highways crammed to capacity and a infrastructure that is falling apart.

THOSE INTERESTED-THE HISTORY CHANNEL IS ONCE AGAIN TELEVISING "The Crumbling of America." This Friday observe the depreciating bridges, dams, levees and 50 year old underground system of sewage in some areas. Our Survival is in peril, but they do not enforce immigration laws. In fact Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has cut the budget for the Border Patrol and other enforcement tools in the SAVE ACT and REAL ID Act. Yet the Congress keeps appropriating money to fight foreign wars or aid other countries. There is much more to learn-not- the propaganda given to us by the business world Learn so much more by surfing the Internet or go to NUMBERSUSA. Read about the corruption from both political parties at JUDICIAL WATCH. Don't hesitate in calling your Senator or Representative at 202-224-3121 In addition Don't forget to give your State assembly a piece of your mind.

Not copyrighted. TELL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW--NO AMNESTY! It will entice Millions more to come for free government entitlements.

ndm

March 24th, 2010 7:14pm Report this comment

-- I think because political and government power is much less centralized, local elections are both more consequential and more vibrant than in Britain.

I'm not really sure about this. In my experience US media coverage of local and state politics is appalling in its minimalism. In the city I live in - and, I suspect, many others - poltics is dominated by one party which means you need to understand the factions within the party to have a clear idea of what is going on. Explaining this is outside the capability of the local media which prefers the classic staple of crime, sport and weather. All in all there is little vibrant about it and seemingly little of consequence either.

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