An American Tale

America has always occupied a confused place in the global consciousness. It’s the land of McCarthy and Martin Luther King. The land of Hollywood dreams and Bible Belt nightmares. The land of apple pie and imperialism. That land of the free and home of the brave built by landless slaves in the home of Indian braves. After eight years of George W. Bush, eight years of belligerent foreign policy, of war, environmental destruction, human rights abuses, neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism, it is hardly surprising that America found its image in the eyes of the world more tarnished than ever. But if Stephen Fry in America can teach us anything, it is just how much there is to celebrate about this quaint and quirky country, its rich culture and traditions and its people. And how one nation – so reviled in so many ways by anti-war protesters and anti-capitalists for whom it is a symbol of everything they oppose – can also be a source of hope. That’s the confused place of America. That’s its narrative, a complex series of twists and sub-plots, much more than the grand story arc of one nation under God marching manifest destiny.

The election of Barack Obama fits that narrative so perfectly. Black man from humble background makes good in America. It could have been a Will Smith movie with a title taken from the Declaration of Independence. But beyond that, beyond his laudable pledges to withdraw troops from Iraq and close Guantanamo Bay, beyond his commitment to lowering carbon emissions and undoing the damage of the Bush administration, Obama really has changed the world. He’s changed their perceptions of America. Going door to door and talking politics in the run up to the European Elections, one thing was clear. People are decidedly less anti-American than they were a year ago.

If there is one person, however, who personifies everything that is detestable about America, it’s Sarah Palin. That gun toting, socially conservative, economically liberal, oil drilling, anti-abortion, pro-death penalty hockey mom who’s for the war and against gay rights is a walking synopsis of the dangerous side of America’s narrative. For any moderately liberal individual with a conscience, she’s quite clearly the villain of the piece. Palin’s announcement of her resignation as governor of Alaska – making waves on these shores on the day of America’s independence, 233 years after a bunch of rich slave owners decided they didn’t want to pay their taxes – can only be a good thing. But, if the reports are to be believed, if she is “advancing in the direction” of a 2012 bid for the White House, should we be worried?

Many Republicans are writing this off as a foolish move. “She was a shooting star who dimmed in recent months and now she’s crashed,” said Republican strategist Ed Rollins. But despite the questionability of this move, despite her bumbling performances during the campaign last year, despite the fact America has never before elected a woman as its president and despite her representing the polar opposite of the newfound hopes of Obama supporters around the world, she could do it. Because this is the nation that elected one of its most liberal, intelligent and eloquent presidents immediately after returning one of its most conservative, ignorant and gaffe-prone presidents in history. And because Sarah Palin is every bit as much a part of the American narrative as Barack Obama.