Is it possible to bring the two halves of America back together?
America is both a global superpower, with many countries depending on its aid, as well as a failing democracy, polarised by dis-information. How should we understand this paradox of decadence and decline, and what is the future of America?
At the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, journalist and radio presenter Geraldine Doogue facilitated a discussion on American Decadence and Decline. Former BBC correspondent Nick Bryant and historians Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Adam Tooze joined the conversation to provide historical context and political perspectives to answer the question: how can we, as Australians, begin to understand politics in America and its role in the global community?
Political polarisation and dis-information
“The American political system is astonishingly unpredictable and difficult to read.” — Adam Tooze
America is split into two halves. One half is characterised by holding progressive views, reading the New York Times, wearing masks during the pandemic, and voting Democrat. The other half is characterised by watching Fox News, prioritising freedom of personal choice above all else, and voting Republican.
These extremes have moved further apart over the course of American history, and Ben-Ghiat explains how former president Donald Trump accelerated this process by validating dis-information and creating propaganda. As “one of the most skilled propagandists of the 21st century,” he was calculated in how he manipulated the mainstream media narrative and weaponised the growing divide in America by appealing to the narrative that the general population were “victims of the elite,” as Bryant explained.
“There are two Americas right now and that’s been codified in law after [Roe v. Wade] especially. There’s going to be an America where you can legally get an abortion and an America where you can’t get an abortion.” — Nick Bryant
These two halves get their information from vastly different sources, and as a result, often have vastly different beliefs and realities. Bryant called upon the distinction between decline and dismemberment and asked us the question: is it possible to bring the two halves of America back together?
Division is the heart of the problem
As an Australian, it’s hard to fully comprehend how many of America’s political and institutional flaws come back to racial divisions. The United States became the United States because of the Civil War (1861–1865), which joined the southern confederate slave states and the northern free states to become one nation. After a short period of reconstruction, the US was legally segregated until the 1960s, in what is called the Jim Crow era. Today, the lasting effects of redlining, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and police brutality (to name a few) continue to divide Americans along the lines of race and class.
When we think of the decline of America, it’s important to think of it in context. America is built on generations of racial divides that have set the foundation for how the country functions today. From education and health outcomes to voter turn out, it’s important to ask: what parts of America’s racist history might explain these facts?
“Division has always been the default.” — Nick Bryant
Tooze, Ben-Ghiat and Bryant discussed how the current divide in America, aside from being racialised, is also political and socioeconomic. There’s no one way to characterise the split, but there are notable trends, especially in the political sphere. Bryant noted that “we have seen 20 years of moderate republicans being replaced with conservative republicans, and conservative republicans being replaced by radical republicans.” Where there used to be people in the middle representing moderate perspectives in congress, there are now “true believers” of dis-information and conspiracy theories.
How should we talk about the future of America?
One of the questions at the forefront of the discussion was: is it possible to bring the two halves of America together? Tooze believes that many Americans hold each other in contempt, or disregard, which keeps the divide alive.
“When someone is in a disinformation tunnel, the impetus might be to cast them off because they are too hard to talk to them… but you have to keep talking to them. In talking to them, you are doing the opposite of showing contempt.” — Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Contempt in conjunction with dis-information is a dangerous recipe for disengagement. By talking to people across the divide, we can show regard for other people, who often don’t have a say in the information and beliefs that they have access to. In addition, Ben-Ghiat explains that “the more people feel shamed and humiliated by “elites” or by others, the more they’re going to be taking refuge in their disinformation tribes.”
As Australians, we will always be a little bit more removed from the events happening in the US. If there are two things that we should take away from the discussion of American Decadence and Decline, it’s that political events need to be understood in context, and it is crucial that we base our views on accurate information.
Tune into the full FODI 2022 discussion, American Decadence
Anna Goodman is an undergraduate student at Princeton University, majoring in philosophy and minoring in gender and sexuality studies.
