Right after her husband's victory in the Iowa caucuses, Michele Obama made the statement that this was the first time in her adult life that she had been "really proud" of her country. She went on to say that her pride was not just because Barack had been victorious, but because she saw a new sense of hope and renewed belief in the political process from the electorate. It was an understandable bit of candid exhuberance at the success of her husband, and the landmark elevation of an African-American man to the position of being a real contender for the U.S. Presidency; but it was a political mistake on her part, and she has been plagued by incessant criticism for it ever since. That is the way politics works in our deeply divided country, and she and her husband (and his supporters) will just have to live with the consequences.
However, if you step back and evaluate that statement on its own terms, divorcing it from its immediate political impact, Michele Obama's words are not at all remarkable or worthy of criticism. She is a well-educated woman in her mid-40's, mother of two young daughters, an African-American, who would presumably date the beginning of her "adult life" at some point in the early 1980's. Let's assume it begins with Reagan's first inauguration in January of 1981. What are the events during the three decades that have passed since then that she is supposed to be "really proud" of? What actions has our country taken or sponsored that demonstrated our commitment to the ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence?
There are some, to be sure. Many would point to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet Union that it symbolized, as a shining moment in U.S. history, and I tend to agree. No historical event is all good or all bad, but this one had more good in it than most. Millions of people in Eastern Europe were freed from a cruel tyranny and given real opportunity for the first time in more than a generation. I would not assign as much of the credit to Reagan as his admirers do, just as I don't assign as much credit to Clinton for the economic prosperity during his eight years in office. I consider both Reagan and Clinton to be charismatic personalities who certainly affected events on the margins, but were also very fortunate in the times they appeared on the world stage. Without the courage of the Polish labor unions, and the pragmatism of Mikhail Gorbachev, history would have been quite different, but the Wall did finally come down, and the world is better for it.
What are the others? You can hardly expect Ms. Obama to have much pride in a President who snickers about "welfare queens", or his sucessor who won the Presidency by using the particularly nasty "Willie Horton" ads. Is she supposed to be really proud that her children are growing up in a super-wealthy nation with a literacy rate below that of Cuba? And what about the medical system that the Obama girls will inherit? The choke-hold that the insurance companies and Big Pharma have on our society results in a standard of medical care for the U.S. that is tragically low, and it contributes to the massive transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to the very wealthy. Is Obama supposed to be really proud of that?
There are some who would call our response to the terrorist attacks in September, 2001 something to be really proud of. This was a time of unified purpose, a time that we were all patriotic. Look at all the displays of the United States Flag, they would say, and the God Bless America bumper stickers. Hogwash.
The years since the terrorist attacks are the darkest, most debilitating time in our country's history. Beginning with the outburst of fear and jingoism masquerading as patriotism immediately after September 11, 2001, and continuing with the stampede to a tragically unnecessary war in Iraq, we have allowed a steady erosion of our moral purpose and individual liberties in the name of a "War on Terror". We have abandoned the high ground that should be ours. Osama bin Laden's greatest victory was not the fall of the World Trade Center. His crowning achievements are the torture chambers at Guantanamo Bay, the USA Patriot Act, and the unwarranted wiretapping by the U.S. Government of its citizens.
We had the misfortune to suffer the attacks from bin Laden's forces at a time when our government was in the hands of a man who is arguably the worst President this country has ever had to endure. George Bush is an amoral ideologue who has demonstrated repeatedly that he will sacrifice our system of democracy embodied in the U.S. Constitution for his partisan goals. He and his neo-conservative handlers gleefully seized on the opportunity given them by bin Laden to push their radical right-wing agenda. They are cynical, dishonest, and have done great damage to the United States and the world.
They are not, however, the only villains in this piece. We have two political parties in this country, and the party out of power has the sacred duty to point out when the one in power strays. The Democratic Party has failed this test miserably. It was only when the public finally woke up in 2006 to the horrendous mistakes we were making in Iraq that the Democrats found the courage to criticize. Where were they in 2002?
Where was the press? It was common knowledge among Washington insiders that the Bush Administration was fabricating "intelligence reports" to justify the Iraq invasion. Why was there not more of an outcry from our supposedly free press? The answer is, I'm afraid, that the Administration effectively stifled all opposition for several years by cynically and skillfully invoking patriotism and fear. If we have not learned anything else from this long, dark night of the soul, I hope we have learned to be always skeptical of anyone who bases their political discourse on warbling "God Bless America"; and chanting "If you are not with us, you are a traitor."
So, as an Obama supporter, I wish Michele hadn't said what she did, because it only gives ammunition to McCain's ad writers, but I can't find it in my heart to disagree with her. The history of the United States since 1981 has been a generally downward spiral of declining personal liberty, increased inequities in our economic system, and diminished standing in the world community. We have lost our way, and we are all hungry for something to be proud of.
Thomas R. Borden Waugh, Alabama August 2, 2008