Keeping Calm and Carrying On

For the past several days I have been vacationing in Arizona. Since arriving here, I have encountered reproductions of the British WW2 war poster, “Keep Calm and Carry On”, in at least four different stores, in the form of postcards, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and key chains. In the face of a fearsome economic downturn, a housing crisis and staggering job losses, it's no wonder that Americans are telling themselves to calm down. As a Canadian visiting America, it’s extremely clear that people here are feeling very uneasy, and that this level of discomfort is being felt in all aspects of daily life.

Yesterday at the grocery store, I came across a woman in the produce section who was angrily bemoaning the fact that too many of the fruits and veggies were not “made in America”. “Why should those Mexicans get our money, when people here need the work?”, she irritably hissed. I quietly wondered to myself if she understood how expensive and limited her shopping experience would be if it was restricted to items that were “made in America”.

That same day, 60 illegal workers were rounded-up in an immigration raid in downtown Phoenix. In the face of what President Obama has recently called a “full-blown crisis”, it seems that the folks here in Phoenix aren’t feeling all that generous to outsiders these days.

It’s worth noting that this anxious cultural mood is not unique to Phoenix, or even to the United States. The German word “zeitgeist”, literally meaning “spirit of the age”, is a philosophical term used to describe the political, moral, intellectual and cultural climate of any particular historical time. With hardly a country untouched by this economic crisis, it’s fair to say that the current global zeitgeist is one of fear and anxiety. But America is a powerful country; its response to this financial crisis will no doubt influence the actions of nations across the globe.

So, will Americans be able to take their own advice, to keep calm and carry on? Or does the American zeitgeist reflect the attitude of the woman I encountered in the grocery store – anxious and fearful, and hateful as a result?

The Symbol of America's Redemption

Today, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. I believe that the inauguration of President Obama is the symbolic equivalent of America’s redemption in the eyes of the world. Although not a descendant of slavery, Obama is a representation of America’s emancipation from its own sordid history of slavery and racial discrimination. Barack Obama offers a hope for change and a chance for America to shed its identity as a global villain. Obama stands for The Good, and Americans are ready for The Good President.

Nevertheless, I think it is important to highlight that the power of Obama thus far has been entirely symbolic. Anthropologists have long been interested in the ways that symbols convey meanings and the power that these meanings have over our experiences. A simple example of this is how a small red octagon has the power to govern the movements of billions of people all over the world. However, the thing about the power of a symbol is that it is subject to and limited by the constraints of its physical and material environment. The power of the stop sign is irrelevant if you’re heading towards a busy intersection in a car with faulty brakes.

Which brings me back to Obama. One can’t help but fear that for all the symbolic heroism that has been projected onto this man, he will be unable to fix the political, economic and environmental mess that is today’s global reality. Whether or not Barack Obama proves to be America’s redeemer will remain to be seen. Let’s just hope, for our sake and his, that’s he’s got better luck than the driver of the car without brakes.