Lyrical flights and historical malaise
Barack Obama promised Monday that his inauguration as the first black president of the United States would “renew the promise” of the American dream. “Tomorrow, we will come together as one, on the plaza where (Martin Luther) King’s dream continues to resonate. In doing so, we recognize that here in America, our destinies are inextricably intertwined,” writes he said in a press release.
“We are committed to moving forward together. As we seek to renew the promise of this country, let us remember the lesson of (Martin Luther) King: the dreams we have separately are one,” he continued. (La libre 01/19/2009). The Obama team decided to open the Washington Mall to the public, blowing up the inauguration bill to $150 million due to the security concerns that this change entails. The speech will be followed by a prayer from evangelical pastor Rick Warren, then a song from the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, and a quartet. A Harlem-born poet, Elizabeth Alexander, will recite a poem. The Rev. Joseph Lowery will deliver a blessing shortly before the national anthem. (Le Temps, 01/19/2009). “This is a historic occasion, a milestone in the history of race relations in this country,” adds Fred Phillips, a 62-year-old black psychologist who came with his wife. Apart from these privileged people sitting on the stands, more than two million people gathered on Tuesday on the Mall, the immense esplanade in the heart of Washington, to attend the inauguration of the first black president of the United States, acclaimed by an enthusiastic crowd who had converged on the Capitol, even before daybreak, despite the cold (-13° in full wind). (La libre, 01/19/2009).
Let’s move on from the involuntary humor which consists of a black psychologist wanting to mark things with a white stone. Regarding Obama’s speech, it is always good for a politician to appear to be part of a more or less prestigious lineage, to stir up the fusional dream of overcoming differences. There are several elements, however, which may be intriguing in American events.
First, the sudden reversal of public opinion which, only four years ago, re-elected Republican President George W. Bush. By what miracle did so much blindness give way to sudden clairvoyance? Is it a profound change in minds, or despair in the face of the general evolution of the situation?
Then, the association of politics with spectacle. This mass gathering, apparently as much studied as spontaneous, does not only give a lot of importance to politics. It combines in a beautiful amalgamation Obama, Biden, the wives, the Republican opponents, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen… The new president is “cool” enough to attract millions of people to the Capitol, for designers to launch a special line of articles inaugural events on its image, so that stars like U2 and Stevie Wonder gave a free concert to launch its inauguration. The public accepts his image as well on a basketball court, on T-shirts or in the Oval Office – the integration of show biz and politics had already been noted in France during the election of little Sarkozy, and it consecrates the alliance of categories of people who have only one trait in common: the power to impact crowds.
Finally, the amalgamation between this election and the so-called promises of multi-ethnicity. Attempting to capture the changing realities of current cross-breeding, commercial marketing seeks to promote the development of a hybrid ethnic identity. Thus, the “I am a Mutli-culti cutie” T-shirts are all the rage, the “New York Times” announces the birth of the “generation EA” (Ethnically Ambiguous), and in the wake of Betty Crocker Brand Food, the design The Dora animated and books feature a character whose appearance mixes ethnic origins. However, there is nothing so surprising that a mulatto came to the head of the American state. This is undoubtedly an individual phenomenon linked to the need for a new personality – although Obama is a democratic politician with rather conventional ideas. The long-term possibility of such an event was contained in the abolition of slavery under Abraham Lincoln. Recently, the head of the Defense Department and the State Department were black. The illusion of overcoming races relieves the suffering produced by the policy of multi-ethnicity. Here too, the tactic was tested by the French “Little Satan”. At the time of the 1998 Football World Cup – won with subsidies by a multi-ethnic team… over another just as multi-ethnic – French people and immigrants suddenly admitted to dreaming of overcoming their antagonisms, feeling relieved by the momentary concealment of the latter – a catharsis which solved nothing, but which bought time for political power.
America today is rocking its short-term change. But she seems to have learned nothing in substance.
