Now this is fighting for “America the Beautiful”:
If you can’t view the video, it’s the latest official Obama campaign ad, and it uses Mitt Romney singing “America the Beautiful” at a campaign stop earlier this year as its soundtrack. Meanwhile, headlines slowly flash by:
- “In business, Mitt Romney’s firms shipped jobs to Mexico and China.”
- “As Governor, Romney outsourced jobs to India.”
- “He had millions in a Swiss bank account, tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.”
The ad closes with white words on a black background: “Mitt Romney’s not the solution. He’s the problem.”
It’s a brutal ad because it highlights the gap between Romney’s invocation of patriotic symbols on the campaign trail, and his disregard for patriotism when it comes to making a buck (or $250 million of them).
About the time Romney started singing “America the Beautiful” as part of his stump speech in various Republican primary states, Bruce Springsteen released “We Take Care Of Our Own”. Like many Springsteen songs, it’s open to multiple interpretations. However a close reading—as well as Springsteen’s own words in interviews and at concerts—makes clear that the song is measuring the gap between the promise of “America the Beautiful” and the reality of what’s happened in our country in recent years.
Where’s the promise from sea to shining sea, (That) wherever this flag is flown…we take care of our own.
A confluence of events in the 1950s, 60s and 70s threw American liberals back on their heels when it came to appropriating the cultural symbols of patriotism. More recently, liberals have (for whatever mix of reasons) grown more adept at and confident in laying claim to what it means to be American.
The latest Obama campaign ad brings that change into sharper focus. It doesn’t just attack Mitt Romney for being a rich, greedy capitalist. It doesn’t just question his patriotism. It flat out asserts that “he’s the problem”. And it does so prefaced by the Kenyan, Muslim socialist who occupies the White House saying, “I approve this message”.
We’ll see in time whether this attack on Romney works, or whether it backfires on President Obama. For now, it’s notable because it signals that American liberals (or at least the one in the White House) are ready to fight conservatives for control of, for the meaning of, “America the Beautiful”.
That’s a good thing because the definition of the promise of America, and to whom that promise is available is supposed to be contested. That’s why we have elections. That was part of the genius of the Founding Fathers.
Even though they didn’t consider most of us to be included in that promise, they understood that creating a culture and politics of robust debate and argument, and of widespread participation was the best shot they had at creating a republic that could survive and thrive. It’s because of the best parts of that culture that the promise of America has expanded as much as it has over the last two centuries. With a bit of luck—and a lot more fights for “America the Beautiful”—it will continue.
Crossposted at: http://masscommons.wordpress.com/
P.S. Booman often talks about the importance of liberals acting like we should have power. This ad is, IMHO, an example of doing just that. That’s our song, and how dare Mitt Romney try to appropriate it to justify his unAmerican behavior.
