"Beyond the America of politicians, divisiveness, and the clash of philosophies, America remains the country that gave us Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Louis Armstrong and that other Armstrong, Neil (whose words 'one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,' came to pass in July, 40 years ago)."
Thomas Jefferson: The third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence: His words continue to inspire people around the world.
With the way some [Romanians]
have reacted to the 233rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which
was declared by the 13 colonies at the launch of that revolt against the perfidious
Albion, I once again have the
feeling that my America is fundamentally different from theirs. [Editor's
Note: Albion is the oldest
known name for the island of Great Britain].
It is understood
- America can't be reduced to stereotypes without becoming a caricature. But in
their version - in which America is simply a global cop compelled by the
role of superpower to bring the world direction - the legacy of the founding fathers
is prone to being distorted. For them, freedom is like a commodity or an
obligation imposed out of a need for balance. And it's a job that cannot be
done by others who, while they share the same manichaeistic
vision - also consider America to be a kind of empire of absolute evil.
[Editor's Note: Manichaeism was a Gnostic
religion that described the struggle between a spiritual world of light
and an evil world of materiality and darkness].
Barack Obama's election as
President of the United States has succeeded in bringing the America I know
back into the light.
Obama proved that
America isn't only neo-conservative, militaristic and bigoted, but also progressive,
democratic and open. Now the suffocating America of George Bush - which excited
so many supporters of “order” and “tradition” in the mioritical regions
[Romania], where patriotism rules and humiliating interrogations at Guantanamo
or Abu Ghraib are carried out - has made room for the other America - of
the rights of citizenship and liberty.
[Editor's Note:
The Miorita
is considered one of the most important pieces of Romanian folklore. It is a
ballad about rural life and its imperfections. The phrase "mioritical
regions" refers to Romania. See video below].
But confronted
with developments and more recently, a new American president who is to some,
in the words of Politico'sEamonJavers, "too perfect,” certain Romanian
politicians feel themselves to be "too complex."[Editor's Note: In Romanian, "complex" refers to an
"inferiority complex"].
Simply put, the America I
think of with pleasure isn't that of Ronald Reagan, but of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. It's an America that tries to meet the promise of "justice for
all” - and not only for the privileged few. Similarly, I am one of those who think
of America as that of Abraham Lincoln rather than Andrew Jackson - who, to oppose
the elite, introduced the spoils
system - a form of administration that prefers loyalty to the party chief
over expertise.
But beyond the America
of politicians, divisiveness, and the clash of philosophies and political choices,
America remains the country that gave us Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams,
Louis Armstrong and that other Armstrong, Neil (whose words “one small step for
a man, one giant leap for mankind,” came to pass in July, 40 years ago). It is
the country that has known for two centuries that it's better to awaken
interest and hope rather than fear or hatred. It's the country that tried and
sometimes succeeded in guaranteeing its citizens the three inalienable rights, as
stated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, “life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.” It is a nation that deserves - especially when
it has shown the power to return to its old vocation - more appreciation than
it gets.
*CristianPirvulescu is dean of Romania's
National School of Political Studies and Public Administration
