This entry looks at not only the genre of the week, but also a Frage für das Forum on the role of the United States as its world superpower. Or is it still?
Since moving to Germany in 1999, one of the hottest small talk topics that I’ve encountered both on the streets as well as in the classroom has been the US. And being an American expatriate from Minnesota, growing up right next to Iowa, I have not been afraid to talk about any issues the people bring up at the table, such as politics, social issues, history, culture, sports and even the people living there. And growing up during the age of Reaganomics, Bushisms and Clintongate, I have seen America from both sides of the spectrum, watching it lead efforts to defeat communism and the former Soviet satellites open the gates to freedom, while at the same time, sow the seeds of terrorism with their lack of efforts in rebuilding Afghanistan, resulting in this day of infamy known as 11 September, 2001.
Yet still, many of us still speak of the glory days that either existed prior to 9/11 or in the eyes of many, still exist but in bits and pieces. I remember when President Obama won the Presidential elections in 2008, during my first year as lecturer of English at the University of Bayreuth, there was that feeling of a divide between those who wanted to cling on to the glory days of American exceptionalism, as demonstrated by George W. Bush, and those who were aware of the problems the US was facing at home and abroad. I can remember my dad’s question of which country was the greatest nation on the face of the Earth in terms of military and economics and his fury when I responded with “China.” I didn’t say that without a good reason, by the way.
And this takes us to this genre of the week and in particular, this video clip from the TV show, “The Newsroom,” produced in 2012. In this scene, we have a forum where the professors are taking questions about America and its role in the world- and this in the thicket of a hefty debate. And while the first two were able to answer the question about America being the land of the free and prosperous, the third one, William McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels), who always responded with the fact that he was a fan of the New York Jets American football team, he rose to the occasion, tired of all the bickering that was going on around him, and said this about America….
Now if this is not a jaw-dropper, then what is? But it lead me into providing this question for the forum, as we’ve heard a lot about America’s ever-changing role, both on the home front as well as abroad:
How do you perceive America in your eyes today, whether you are an American living abroad or at home, whether you are a German or European, and whether you are a writer, teacher, politician or have another occupation?
Where do we see America going in 20 years?
What are some items that were common in the 80s and 90s that you would like to see again?
If we say that America is still the greatest today because of all our might that we have, how can we prove it?
These are questions that need to be answered as the country is at the crossroads in terms of their policies, societal issues at home and its relations with other countries. If we choose to ignore the problems we have, we choose to ignore ourselves, and with that, we choose to ignore the consequences of our actions.
Think about it.
THE FLENSBURG FILES 