Date: Sun, 06 Jan 2002 10:29:06 -0600 From: Mary Murphy&Salstrand <ericandmary-AT-earthlink.net> Subject: Re: Baudrillard Judy/Lois: The question of American isolation is an interesting one. The myth of America is that it is a New Land, a vast virgin unpopulated (sic) wilderness free of European history where the pilgrim could in a sense be baptised and reborn, cleansed by the waters of the Atlantic. An Adam in paradise, free from history, has always been an implicit image sanctifying what might otherwise be seen as genocide and rape. In America, history becomes transformed into eschatology. That is the source of our isolationalist spirit. Of course, there were also the so-called "isolationationist" movements before the two great wars. Europe is corrupt; America is innocent. Just before 911 there were incredible benefits that accrued from America's position of dominance in the global economy, but at home there was a fairy tale quality to America's identity; its sense of itself as a nation set apart, a chosen people, and one that was blessed by God (the theological myth of America still prevailing at some level in the minds of many.) At first, I thought this sense of isolation, this bubble had been destroyed by 911. Now I am not so sure. Instead in many ways, it seems that Americans have become even more entrenched in their isolation than before and they have become less open to questioning themselves or America's motives. The left is accused of espousing a "blame America first" philosophy and the right merely scrambles in an orgy of war profiteering; trying to get as many goodies as possible while they can. Like Judy, I don't have a sense of myself as a patriot of America. In a previous email I said that I thought of myself as a global citizen. For that, I was taken to task by Hugh and in a narrow legal sense he was right. How does one become a citizen of country that has not yet been born? But that does seem like the real task that confronts us today. How do we move towards a global society and begin to take responsibility for the vast inequities that confront us while at the same time finding ways to reduce terror in all its forms? I don't have an answer to that question. I don't even know if it is possible to achieve such a thing under the current conditions. However, I am concerned with the emotionally defensive nature of the American response and the clamping down on any discussion of what we are really feeling in relation to this horrible event without resorting to simple banal cliches. For me the value of what Baudrillard said in his essay was that it helped to break down a little this taboo of silence. To create a global society, there needs to be a richer chorus of voices, especially those that are seldom heard. Baudrillard was a lone voice who spoke for many, perhaps. eric
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