For many, President Obama brought hope to the political ethos of the United States. He claimed to be an agent of change. Although much of his rhetoric could lead us to believe in his attempts to foster a spirit of change, I believe he undercuts that spirit in almost every speech. He certainly did last night in his first State of the Union speech. The political rancor in Washington is obvious to anyone who watched last night’s speech. And yet there were moments of unity. Obama talked mostly about the economic crisis and America’s historically tenacious desire to overcome similar obstacles. He mentioned that other nations, such as Japan and Germany, are working hard to overcome economic disaster. The President claimed, “China’s not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany’s not waiting. India’s not waiting. These countries aren’t playing for second place. Well, I do not accept second place for the United States of America.”
That was one of the few times Republicans and Democrats united in applause. But please notice, the unity that momentarily washed away the mimetic conflicts was based on a common enemy: those other countries that are beating us.
This is a negative, false unity that is very dangerous because it is mimetic; it cannot be controlled. The unity we find in the division and rivalry with other countries actually reinforces our own divisions and rivalries. It is a very small step from saying, “I do not accept second place for the United States” to saying, “I do not accept second place for my political party.” The goal is to win and defeat the other, not to find solutions to our common problems. The best evidence of this is that while Democrats united in standing applause, Republicans united in impassive sitting.
Indeed, there were moments of brilliance in the speech. I especially liked the statement, “Our destiny is connected to those beyond our shores.” I fear though, that Obama may be leading our connected destinies down the road of mimetic rivalry, both with those within and beyond our shores.
Obama seemed on the right track when he stated, “We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.” Indeed, that is the answer, but I fear Obama is caught in serving ambition. Serving American ambitions quickly leads to serving Democratic ambitions and Republican ambitions. The way out of this mimetic rivalry of competitive ambition takes real change. If Obama were serious, he would do away with the rhetoric of American exceptionalism. Rather, he would continually emphasize that the whole world is in this together. Obama is only half right. The solution involves putting aside personal and national ambition. Only then can we attend to the real problems facing our world.
That’s the change we need. Hopefully President Obama will deliver.
