Cry for You, America

Cry for You, America

Le 5 septembre 2010, Frank Rich, l’un des extrêmement rares collaborateurs du New York Times authentiquement libéral (progressiste) consacrait sa colonne régulière au discours sur l’Irak du président Obama. Il y disait toute son amertume, tout son désenchantement devant le spectacle de ce président élu dans l’enthousiasme des progressistes, tenant un discours de robot belliciste, sans âme, sans compassion, sans humanité. Le 8 septembre 2010, WSWS.org consacrait un article à ce Frank Rich du 5 septembre, où, – fait rarissime pour ce site impitoyable pour toute gauche qui n’est pas trotskiste, – perçait une certaine compréhension : «To his credit, Rich was not among those liberal pundits who promoted the war. […] Rich’s critique struck a nerve with many readers. Letters poured into the Times web site, some deeply emotional, reflecting disillusionment, anger and, to some extent, despair over the results of Obama’s election…»

C’est ce dernier point qui nous arrêtés. L’article de Rich a suscité 480 commentaires avant que la rubrique ne soit fermée, et parmi eux celui d’un lecteur dont le texte est cité par WSWS.org, qui a atteint le référencement exceptionnel de 2.515 lecteurs. Ce commentaire de “Joe”, 35 ans, de Ann Arbor dans le Michigan, vaut beaucoup d’analyses savantes sur l’état des âmes, aujourd’hui, en Amérique.

«I am a 35 year old man who had an interesting set of perspective shifts from 2001-2002. I started 2001 a Republican; I ended 2002 a vocal anti- Bush anti-war Democrat. And now I'm not sure I even want to be an American anymore. I speak for many of my friends.

»What changed from 2001-2002? A number of things: The blatant dishonesty and warmongering of the Bush administration over spy planes in China, the creepy giddiness of the administration over 9-11 and the rush to war, and the horribly wrong coverage of all of the above by our “liberal” media. One more fact: I lived in London from late September 2001 through the end of 2002. From there, I read reports about the IAEA and Scott Ritter, Hans Blix et al. over and over again saying there were no WMD in Iraq. When I got back to the US, it was like a fascist nightmare. Flags festooned everywhere, people literally calling you a traitor for opposing the war, etc.

»Through all of this time – from all of the disgusting crimes of the Bush years now through the Dems' despicable capitulation to corporations (Andrew Jackson's nightmare) – I've wondered what I'm still doing in this country. I'm finishing an advanced degree at the University of Michigan and honestly I feel like leaving and never coming back. I'd like to live in a humane place where democracy still means something. I would miss the comfort of the familiar, friends and family, my sports teams...but little else. Our country is no longer a place I'm proud of. I could fight to make this place better, but that's a life's work, and honestly I'm not sure if this place isn't beyond repair. Regardless of my education, I think I speak for many my age and younger.

»How bitterly ironic that so many people – including our absolutely execrable media elite, save for a few of you at the Times and here and there – actually thought we were such champions of democracy, beating the drums of invasion.

»We no longer live in a functioning democracy. That is not the grim pronouncement of a dour hippie (not that there's anything wrong with that). That is a sober account of the state of America today, spelled out by a skilled guy with a future and a solid moral foundation, someone that should be encouraged by some credible accountable leadership to stay and help make this country better. Rahm Emanuel dropping F-bombs to liberals and the UAW, Larry Summers running economic policy and Harry Reid grabbing his ankles for the GOP: not change I can believe in. And no more dear to me is a country where multitudes descend on DC to listen to a Weimar Republic beer hall speech at the Lincoln Memorial, listen to a fork-tongued Jabba the Hut seething chaos over public airwaves on a daily basis, or vote for a lobotomized governor in Arizona or openly racist senator in Kentucky. Where a “libéral” president convenes secret meetings to dismantle the last shred of fairness in American society, Social Security.

»Do I stay and do my tiny part to make it work? If I were an entrepreneur capitalist I might be tempted, but you know I'm actually like most people in this country: I just want meaningful work as part of a team that gives me a decent standard of living, something I'm far more likely to get in northern Europe, Australia, Singapore, Germany, or Canada than here. Utopia means “no place” – but there are places are far more congruent with my secular moral values, with highly regulated free markets, robust public services, democratic freedoms and a sense of shared sacrifice.

»What does motivate me to work for change here, whatever small part, is the danger of an even more arrant and errant USA in the world than what we have now.

»But regardless, the fact that I'm a skilled young person very seriously questioning whether to give up my citizenship should concern some principled leader. Our misbegotten tragedy in Iraq is where it all started, but it's been all downhill from there.»

Plus loin dans la colonne des commentaires, cette réponse à “Joe”, l’Américain de 35 ans qui se demande s’il ne va pas changer de nationalité, par “Sarascott”, du Michigan également. Il est difficile de ne pas penser que tant de colère, tant de désespoir, tant d’amertume, puissent être contenus encore longtemps dans les bornes de l’apparence caricaturale des restes refroidis de l’American Dream, – ce qui est l’Amérique d’aujourd’hui, de quelque côté que l’on se tourne (les citoyens américains de la droite conservatrice ressentent, à leur façon et pour d'autres raisons, les mêmes sentiments de colère, d'amertume et de désespoir).

«Joe, I read the article and then I read your comment. You have said it all and responded correctly. I feel what you feel. I am older. I am not quite 60 but almost there and the despair, the helplessness, the hurt, the loss of this great nation is with me every day. You also write of “where do we go?” Where is it safe and good and free? Where is the America that was? I ponder that all the time. I want to gather up my two young adult children who are just beginning their lives and are not yet aware what kind of a world they have inherited and take them away to some magical place that is safe. I don't want to tell them the truth. I don't want to scare them.

»Obama is not responsible. There are no words that he can say that will change where we are at. I believe that he does think, reflect, read ,digest and ultimately worry about the same things that you and I do. He is not clueless, but he is powerless to give Mr Rich the speech that he yearns for. Really Mr Frank Rich could Obama say the words that you so desperately want to hear? What effect would they have? Would they fix anything, or possibly cause a mass panic of such proportion that the stampede of frightened American citzens would cause our inevitable ending so much sooner.

»The game is over. The rescue isn't coming. The America that was is no more. It won't be coming back. I am sorry. I am sorry Joe. I am sorry that you know. It makes it unbearable. It makes your young life a misery. I am sorry. I am so truly sorry.

»I am just a half hour away from Ann Arbor and I am here. And I am determined to live in peace, in love, in harmony and without hurt or strife. You are welcome friend at my table.»

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