U.S.

And Them

Devika Brendon-Tue 20

December 2016
The United States and Sri Lanka are both Republics. Both
countries call themselves democratic societies. In the U.S., 300
million citizens of diverse ethnic origin occupy part of a vast
continent. In Sri Lanka, 21 million citizens of diverse ethnic origin
inhabit a small island state. The societies of both the United
States and Sri Lanka have been disrupted by intermittent civil
unrest and violence, due to the anger and disaffection of their
ethnic minority groups, and both have suffered terrorist attacks.
The U.S. has experienced sporadic race riots, in specific cities, but
Sri Lanka has endured almost 30 years of a Civil War which has
affected the entire nation. In contrast with American culture,
which is individualistic, and values free expression, Sri Lanka is
founded on socialist principles, and embedded in its culture is an
expectation that individuals in its society will conform to
traditional societal and familial norms.

The United States has, time and again, been held up to the rest of
the world as a model democracy. Image courtesy
australiannationalreview.com
Like most of the rest of the world, we have had the U.S.A. held up
to us as a model of success, wealth, power, and the democratic
way of life. But the recent U.S. Election has given us an
unforgettable example of what we do not want to become.
We have reason to be cautious. We are a society in transition, on
a progressive and expansive path, and seeing a larger democracy
experience a mighty shock can teach us a great deal. Many
American people are talking and writing about the recent Election
as if it is The End Of The World As They Know It. And, like any selfrespecting plus size personality, they assume that their problems
loom equally large on everyone elses horizon. As a result, we are
being given a fascinating insight into a national course-correct
that will affect the whole world.

The often negative attitudes expressed towards the Good

Governance platform of the current regime are indications that
we in Sri Lanka could benefit from an evaluation of ourselves in
relation to our effectiveness as a functioning democracy.
Most of us equate America with Democracy because Americas
elected leaders have told us repeatedly that they are the
protectors of democracy, and that their Constitution enshrines the
best, most authentic expression of democratic values: a
government of the people, by the people, for the people. In the
aftermath of the recent election, however, it is becoming clear
that many Americans feel that the results of this election do not
express their true wishes and aspirations. And that they recognise
that their own electoral process needs re-evaluation.
Fact Or Fiction? Opinion Rules The Day
In the lead up to the American election, many mainstream media
outlets threw objectivity to the winds, openly and aggressively
coming out in support of one candidate over the other. The right
to freedom of expression, fuelled by opinion-based journalism and
intensified by extensive national discussion on social media, has
led to a full airing of American citizens personal and political
views. The extent to which journalists and cartoonists have
expressed their negative views of the President-Elect of The U.S.
has been remarkable to witness, from a country where
such freedom of the press has, in relatively recent times, been
forcefully discouraged.
In the absence of reliable facts, the voting population of America
seems to have subscribed to the sensationalisation of trivia and
the cults of personality that were created around the competing
contenders. Much of the free speech expressed by its citizens
has deteriorated rapidly into hate speech, and it is clear that
political debate becomes intensely and irrevocably personal in
such a volatile context.
Bizarre (apparently undemocratic) Fact: Hillary Clinton seems to
have won the popular vote, by 4 million votes and counting, but

Donald Trump has been declared the winner. He is currently

forming a team of advisors to Make America Great Again.
What Does The Phrase Make America Great Even Mean?

Nationalism, personified. Not MY Captain. Image courtesy

m7781.deviantart.com
For most of the 20th and 21st centuries, the United States has felt
entitled to lead the world. Its economic dominance began in the
18th century, generated by aggressive colonisation, and
sustained with slave labour. It boomed in the late 19th century,
fuelled by exploitation of mineral resources and mass
industrialisation. The 20th century saw the U.S.A. become a
Superpower. What defined this Super- iority? Its deployment of
nuclear weaponry in 1945, and its exploration of space
(competitively called The Space Race); its economic domination
of the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank; and, in
between bouts of orchestrated military aggression, its monopoly

of global media, through syndicated entertainment-focused

television, cable TV and syndicated news programmes, mass
marketed movies, and popular music.
American leaders have also promoted the United States as the
world leader in democratic values: in progressive human rights
and in womens and childrens rights. By doing so, they have
accorded themselves the apparently God-given right to deploy
peacekeeping forces around the world in geopolitically strategic
zones in the name of enforcing their democratic way of life. And
to criticise other countries records of alleged war crimes,
genocide and abuse of human rights, despite themselves
launching invasions of other peoples countries (to which they
give sensationalised names, such as Operation Shock And Awe).
There is a long, observable tradition of this poeticisation of
skewed justice.
The events of recent weeks have shown us that, far from being
united, the citizens of the United States are currently more
polarised than they have ever been since the Civil War. The
current U.S. President Elects openly trumpeted sexism, racism,
and disrespect for others and presentation of himself as an
insular, self-glorifying, celebrity-obsessed megalomaniac, should
have disqualified him from consideration for the position of
Leader Of The Free World.

The Imminent First Couple. (Not the First Piano, however.)

This Election result is being equated by some writers with the
greatest national disaster to occur on U.S. soil the terrorist
attacks of 9/11, 15 years ago. These commentators range, in the
egalitarianism created by the internet age, from established
political columnists to social media bloggers. The surreal part of it
all is that this disaster is not the result of attack by an external
enemy. Through a combination of arrogance, otherisation,
complacency and ignorance, the American people self-styled
role models for the so-called Free World have willed it on
themselves.
Trump is not a career politician, and many voters, seemingly
disillusioned with the traditional political process, appear to have
found this a positive and appealing quality. His own words and
conduct, however, have led many to question his capability and
qualifications for leadership. The U.S.A., in its presently divided

state, appears to be in no condition to model for the rest of us the

best way to live.
The claim of Western governments to embody and uphold
democratic values died a public death when the United States,
Britain and Australia instigated the invasion of Iraq, and
perpetrated two successive Gulf Wars, against the express wishes
of the people who had elected them. The carnage and cultural
desecration that has ensued has been front page news for
decades.
The officially sanctioned treatment of prisoners of war at
Guantanamo Bay, the so-called War on Terror, the arguments for
Homeland Security, and fictitious searches for Weapons of Mass
Destruction to retroactively justify the demonisation and murder
of Saddam Hussein have combined to further diminish American
credibility. The U.S. otherises people, and blatantly and selfjustifyingly deals in stereotypes. Much of the conduct of the
American government is concealed from the people who elect
them. This style of faux democratic leadership has been reflected
in both Britain and Australia, in the same time frame. This
tendency to judge the value of our governments by their rousing
and sanctimonious words, and by their manipulated appearances,
is something all citizens need to challenge, each in our own
political culture.
Something there is that doesnt love a wall is the opening line of
Robert Frosts Mending Wall, which argues that people should
evolve from a fear-based position of aggression towards others, to
a more realistic and respectful co-existence. Yet many people on
November 8 voted for a leader who claimed he would isolate
America and keep out unwanted, alien and illegal people.

How could the majority of citizens, in a country whose most

recognisable icon is the Statue of Liberty, vote for a man who
wants to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants who (he says)
threaten the American way of life? Because Good Fences Make
Good Neighbours? Because received wisdom is that Anglo-Celtic
values are under threat?
Possible Reasons Why This Unexpected Election Result Has
Occurred Include:

No quick fix for this. Image courtesy starecat.com

1. The Questionable Quality Of The Candidates
In contrast to Trump the entrepreneur, Hillary Clinton is far more
qualified and experienced in political leadership. However, many
voters distrusted Clintons integrity, due to her involvement in
questionable political, financial, and legal incidents during her
long political career. Including the Whitewater Scandal, the
sources of funding for the Clinton Foundation, and her hawkish
proclivities during her tenure as Secretary of State.
2. The Stereotypical Image Of Male Leadership

Sexist views are clearly still current in the USA: that women are
incapable of leadership, despite the public perception that
America leads the world in progressive recognition of womens
rights. And despite public exposure of Trumps comparative
incapacity to responsibly lead the country. The appeal that Hillary
Clinton held for women, who seek increasing empowerment and
greater recognition of their contribution, was neutralised to some
extent by her apparent elitism and remoteness from the
experience of ordinary American women.
3. The Desire For Strong Leadership
Dislike of U.S. Liberalism, which is seen as weakening America
by embracing multiculturalism and gender equality, was made
clear by the comments of many voters. National strength is
equated with Nationalism. Trumps identification of this stereotype
endeared him to many voters. Their stance was reinforced by the
arrogant superiority of many Liberals, who believed Clinton would
win because they could not take Trump seriously, and treated him
and his supporters as a joke. (Clinton actually called Trump
supporters a basket of deplorables.)
The conspicuous display of opulent wealth and material power
(cars, planes, houses, harems, jewellery, grandiose statements,
Ozymandian boasts and threats, vainglory) exhibited by our
leaders and their dynastic families should be treated with
suspicion by voters, in countries calling themselves democracies.
Such display is insensitive and insulting, to all their fellow citizens,
who they claim to lead by example. It is inexcusable, in a Socialist
Republic.
4. Voter No-Shows
A staggering 46.3% of the U.S. voting populace did not vote at all.
But this was not entirely due to confusion or apathy. Many
American citizens, despite being taught Civics in school, are
ignorant and unaware, not only of their rights, but of their
democratic responsibilities. On a practical level, Election Day in
the U.S. takes place on a Tuesday, which means that many people

are unable to physically present themselves to vote. Many voters

were not aware that each state and electoral jurisdiction across
the 50 states has its own specific eligibility rules. Some require
photo ID. Some require electoral registration in other forms,
requiring validation by sheriffs and other extra-judicial officers,
which cannot be certified at the last minute. People who relocated
across states in the months prior to Election Day were caught out.
There was also a huge difference in waiting times for voters from
different electoral regions. You have to be very committed to wait
for 3-4 hours in line to cast your vote!
In contrast, 81.52% of the voting population turned up in electoral
districts across Sri Lanka to cast their vote on January 8, 2015.
5. Public Perceptions
American society, which calls itself democratic, has actually
been moving over the past three decades to resemble a feudal
economy, with working class people, rural citizens and the poorer
sections of the middle class forming a vast
underclass,disenfranchised and anxious as the industrialised
economy disintegrates around them. The wealthy elite is
becoming, in the Great American superlative tradition, The Super
Rich.
America today is fractured: along lines of class, race, gender,
ethnicity, religion, affluence, and money. Inequity and violence
have been glossed over by Quick Fix myths which people have
been ready to believe. It requires little effort, and no thought, to
stereotype others and blame them for problems that have been a
long time in the making. Scapegoats include (but are not limited
to) African Americans, immigrants, refugees and non-Christians
(particularly those of visibly different faith).
It is not merely the American Dream that has suffered trauma in
recent weeks. It is American self-belief. The default mode of
national self-confidence, implied in slogans such as From Rags To
Riches; Only In America and The Streets Of New York Are Paved

With Gold, has hit a wall. The country which invented the reality
check is now undergoing a public re-evaluation: a moral audit.
(Dont Say) The Dream Is Over

The right to say No is a fundamental right. Image courtesy AP

The American Dream, with its liberating and appealing notions of
egalitarianism, meritocracy, and justice for all has been brilliantly
explored, both in sociocultural and fictional texts, as well as in
popular culture in every form. Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton,
and F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby are just two classic
explorations of the financial aspects of the American Dream. The
Ugly American and The Fire Next Time are complements to one of
the best known anti-prejudice novels of all time: To Kill A
Mockingbird. Ayn Rand praised the genius of American industry
and talent, and satirised American hypocrisies of various kinds,
in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Arthur Miller explored
the downside of commercial culture in Death Of A Salesman, and
the dangers of equating Church and State in The Crucible. One of
the truly great aspects of America has been its consistent ability

to honour creative works which criticise and challenge what it

would prefer to believe about itself.
Land Of The Not-So-Free And Home Of The Fearful
The brave and free mythologised America we admire was made
powerful by an economic system founded on capitalism and
individualism. The spirit of entrepreneurship, of progressiveness,
of innovation, permeated our views of it. Today, we are told that
Americas elections are rigged, that its newscasts are tainted,
biased and faked, that misinformation is rife, and that white
American males, and the women (and men) who love them, are
feeling threatened because they are facing the loss of their White
Privilege, enshrined in a narrow, self-serving interpretation of The
Declaration of Human Rights, which, in practice, until recently
excluded African Americans and Indigenous peoples from being
considered as human beings, let alone equal citizens.
Yet African Americans such as Beyonc and Whitney Houston
have been regularly invited to embody the dreams that America
has of itself. This public anointing of the descendants of former
slaves is part of the best that a country which exploited their
labour has to offer. But it is tokenistic, in its sharp contrast with
the everyday brutality and humiliation suffered by African
Americans of lesser status.

Whitney Houston sang this rendition of the National Anthem at

The Superbowl in 1991, at the height of her singing career. She
was a perfect embodiment of incandescent talent, boldness and
beauty when she exemplified the American Dream in her role in
The Bodyguard, in which her character was an Oscar-winning
megastar. Inspired by her performance, viewers could easily fail
to see that their national feeling was being used as a celebration
of Americas invasion of Iraq in the Gulf War. This aggression, and
those which followed, led to 9/11: which many Americans saw as
an entirely unprovoked attack, unaware that it was seen by many

other countries as a retaliation to the aggressive warmongering of

their own government.
Bigger Is Not Always Better And Might Is Not Right (Unless Youre
A Fascist)
The Larger Than Life aspirations of Americans have been
indulged, admired and imitated by the world for decades. But in
tandem with the good has come a great deal which operates to
their and our detriment. Commercialism and materialism have
accompanied a fragmentation of community, and a tendency to
assign a dollar value to every human act and product. Erosion of
intellectual challenge, embracing of escapist entertainment and a
self-indulgent preference for pre-fabricated opinion, has produced
a reactive citizenry that is overly influenced by superficial and
emotive media transmissions, characterized by reflex, unthought
out actions, and unused to self-criticism. Many Americans
sometimes behave as if the whole world is a theme park, and
other peoples cultural realities either exotic backdrops or toys
which can be appropriated for their amusement.
In our obsession with the colonial issues we have with the British
Empire, we in Sri Lanka have until now failed to acknowledge that
the United States has raised us, on its films, its music, and its
popular culture. In common with the rest of the world, which
means anyone with a television and internet access, we are
tremendously influenced by American grand narratives and
cultural values. The U.S. Presidential Election of 2016 could be a
one in a million opportunity for us to develop some autonomy, at
last. And to avoid the potential chaos that can accompany the
mishandling of cultural pluralism, which is a social and political
concern both countries share.
America Rough Rides Over Other Peoples Rights
Where does a countrys independence end, and its nationalistic
aggression towards others begin? If every citizen of the United
States is entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,

why are so many American citizens of colour harassed, victimised,

brutalised, and killed?

Ugly truths are self-evident.

Why do some Americans not recognise the rights of other nations,
including the First Nations, to their own autonomy, dignity and
fulfillment? Can Americans continue to live at peace, and with a
sense of co-existence, in a world where they are told in so many

ways, every day, that the lives of U.S. citizens are worth more
than the lives of everyone else? Can they see beyond the selfaffirming hype and the spin, which continually tells them that
they are the greatest nation on earth, the new rulers of the world,
and the victims of violence rather than perpetrators of it?
What Can We Learn From The American Election?

Free your mind and the rest will follow. Image courtesy AP
In Sri Lanka, we have a legacy of 500 years of successive
colonisation, and a complex inheritance of social division resulting
from colonisation: indentured labour, language segregation, social
unrest, and civil war. In the U.S., self-rule was established early.
But its economy was founded on slavery, and inequity. And while
it officially welcomes immigrants, they are often treated with
suspicion. In our case, indentured labour imported by the British
led to people being treated as commodities and systematically
oppressed in a colonial society. These citizens were further

frustrated by the segregation of people by language, that

occurred in 1956, with the Sinhala Only Act.
It is clear that Life, Liberty and The Pursuit Of Happiness are not
givens, anymore, in the complex and volatile politicised world we
live in today. They cannot be taken for granted. On the contrary,
they must be valued, and they must be protected: through our
own vigilance, and our development of our own ability to
understand the social structures and processes around us. What
can we take away from this scenario?
1. That we must take our own liberty seriously. That a strong
leader is often a euphemism for a dictator. That our political,
legal and moral rights are not in fact unalienable, but can with
terrifying speed be taken from us. We must ensure that better
quality candidates offer themselves for elected office. And assert
our rights to be governed responsibly, by making better and more
informed choices of leaders, and holding them accountable for
their conduct in office.
2. That we must protect our lives, not by asserting the right to
bear firearms against our fellow citizens, but by protecting our
livelihood through education and self-development, and defending
our rights to freedom of information. This means we must be
aware of what compromises our ability to think through the issues
which affect us, recognising the need for critical thinking and
active learning to be taught in our schools, colleges and
universities.This is seen, in a traditional society, as a challenge to
existing societal norms and values, and a questioning of authority.
Because it is.
3. That we must value our health and our education, and the
systems that support them. Our liberty of body and mind depends
on both of these. And these are essential components of
happiness. We must prioritise these in our society, as well as our
economy. There is a time for war, and a time for peace. A time to

focus on survival, and a time to pursue what makes life worth

living.
4. That we must educate ourselves in our civic responsibilities. Or
risk becoming puppets in the hands of leaders who have no
concern for anything other than their own short-term enrichment.
We must not allow our potential leaders or those with vested
interests to manipulate us through our fears and prejudices, or
use emotive appeals to nationalism, ethnicity or religion to make
us complicit in acts which divide our society. We must try to see
that every other person in our society has an equivalent centre
of self which is just as valuable to them as ours is to us. Political
correctness and faux tolerance which are forced onto a population
inevitably generate a backlash.
5. That we must take responsibility for ourselves, refrain from
Otherisation, and consistently refuse to automatically see people
who we perceive as being different from us as hostile enemies.
We have seen underlying tensions in our own country incited into
violence in 1958, 1971, 1983 and during the long Civil War which
has so recently ended. We, of all democratic nations, should
take a good look and NOT Follow The Leader this time.
The United States prints In God We Trust on their currency notes.
In Sri Lanka, we call ourselves a majority Buddhist nation,
activated by Loving-Kindness and Compassion. Whatever we call
the source of our guiding principles, our conduct towards those
most vulnerable in our societies, the victims of our visible existing
inequities, falls far short of the democratic standards we say we
aspire to, but to which we, and our elected leaders, too often
merely pay lip service.
Like the protagonist in Robert Frosts poem Mending Wall, it is
time to break from tradition, to question the status quo, and
adapt intelligently to a new reality. To change from a combative,
Me (survivalist) sociopolitical concept to a constructive, We
(collaborative) concept.

Postmodern society is characterised by fragmentation, pluralism,

blurred boundaries, radical indeterminacy and moral relativism. It
is confusing, and stressful. Being inclusive and politically
correct can seem as though one is unleashing a Babel of
dissonant voices.
Avoiding and pre-empting otherisation in Sri Lanka would include
critiquing nationalist hate speech and the targeting of ethnic
minority groups, promoting inter and intra-cultural respect,
collaboration and inclusiveness represented by civil society
initiatives like the recent Wings Reconciliation Conference held
at the BMICH, and ensuring that the press attention given to
concepts of justice and equity by many of our leaders is
translated into practical and ongoing action.

Sri Lankas commercial and economic infrastructure is modelling

itself on the capitalistic examples provided for us by the First
World countries we look up to (and receive aid from). Image
courtesy torontoslcg.org
As Sri Lanka becomes more developed, partly with the aid and
investment of First World countries like the United States, our
commercial and economic infrastructure is modelling itself on the
capitalistic examples provided for us by these countries. Big
business, nepotism, and cronyism, class division and the
increasing economic divide, power abuse and systemic corruption
all threaten our progressive development. Established socioeconomic hierarchies, and internalised power differentials,
inappropriate in a Socialist Republic, create apathy, stagnancy,
and discouragement, as the citizens in a democracy struggle
against the ceilings and walls which block their advancement.
Translating every statement into three languages can be timeconsuming. Trying to engage with the perspective of others can
be effortful. A response to these difficulties is often to forcefully
attempt reversion to what is seen as a simpler past, in which
everyones roles were clearly demarcated: a sexist, racist, classist
past. But that would be to erase the valuable steps we have
collectively taken as a human race towards a more aware,
inclusive and participatory, truly democratic world.
What kind of society do we want for ourselves? In the Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, today, we have a choice. But we
can make use of that choice only if we educate ourselves to
exercise that choice wisely. Even if our freedom means that
everyone else we share our country with is just as free as we are,
this does not diminish our own personal freedom. It enhances it. It
ensures it.
Featured image courtesy newsl.org

Posted by Thavam