In the New Republic article “Obama’s old virtues,” Karma Nabulsi suggests that Obama’s ascendance is a function of “classical republicanism” — a system prizing active civic engagement in a participatory democracy — a very old theme that has been absent from view for a very long time. Perhaps. But the explanation for Obama’s political success might be even simpler. It is simply his promise of a uniting narrative in a disunited country.
America has long been celebrated for her promise of a new beginning. Yet as her citizens cherished that promise, in the process an array of divergent niches emerged. And America became directionless.
The era of postmodernism — a concept defined through the absence of a defining identity — partly explains this lack of direction. Protean and ambiguous, postmodernism reveals itself in many facets of our lives, most obviously in our national sphere. In the New York Times Magazine article “The Posteverything Generation,” for instance, Nicholas Handler asserts that “we refuse … to present a cast of inspirational or revolutionary characters on our public stage or to define a specific philosophy.” Our failure to present a popular national hero, in this sense, is a victim to the absence of a distinct narrative.
And society refuses to adhere or conform to any unifying narrative because they have grown so different from each other. “[T]he most powerful forces in our society are the emerging, counterintuitive trends that are shaping tomorrow,” so suggests Senator Clinton’s former chief strategist Mark Penn in “Microtrends.” And he’s right. The rapid alteration of America’s demographics, facilitated by increased immigration, has created an entirely new landscape. As multiculturalism — a product of this changing landscape — permeates, the creation of specific, conflicting niches with their respective needs occur.
While these unique niches proliferate, our forms of expression have simultaneously evolved. It has become slow and personal. Take individual lifestyles. Although dissatisfied with certain practices, we don’t always retaliate through protests. Instead, some adopt contrarian behaviors by boycotts. Others engage through online chat rooms. These individual acts are not always directly apparent.
But exhibited in these actions is a fierce rebellion in the form of incremental activism. The rejection of one lifestyle and the embrace of another are not indicators of apathy but statements of intent. Postmodernism does not provide an encompassing idea, but lays the platform for change at an individual level. And we have embraced it.
Companies fuel this individualism further. To meet the broad spectrum of individual-level consumer tastes, corporations orient their products accordingly. Preferences are analyzed and calibrated. Past ideas of mass-marketing are consigned instead to low-end consumer products. Branding and advertising are designed specifically to satisfy consumption habits. At a large-scale, these miniscule changes magnify themselves into a large change. As a result, segmentation abounds.
Moreover, with the nation marginalized, even devoid, of outstanding national personalities, popular culturists replace them. Celebrities and musicians emerge as role models, with our preoccupation with the latest gossip on Britney Spears’ mental health and news on Brad Pitt’s wrecking marriage prevailing. Yet while we appear to scrutinize their behavior and tragedies, we aren’t delighting in their misfortune or limitations as people. We are merely illustrating interest because we lack national characters.
The convergence of all these factors enabled the emergence of Obama’s candidacy. Promising a new brand of politics that transcended the past, he was, and is, an answer to those longing for a national unity. His candidacy holds promise to the masses wanting to ally individualistic change with a defining narrative. It’s no coincidence that when Michelle Obama remarked that “[f]or the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country,” she meant it. Because he was converging a divided country. It mattered.
ZACH HAN is lost in the reality that is life. Save him from postmodernism’s prison at zklhan@ucdavis.edu
