Imperial America : Reflections on the United States of Amnesia

Rating:
Summary: Love it, but...
Review: As much as I love Gore Vidal, I am getting tired of buying his pamplets and seeing that there are only 30-40 pages of new essays. I like the older essays, but I liked them better the first time I bought them. That gripe aside, the new essays are more of the Vidal style, typically witty and perfectly written.

Rating:
Summary: Confronting and necessary...
Review: I waited with great expectation for the publication of this "pamphlet", Imperial America by Mr. Vidal, following his acclaimed Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace and Dreaming War, because I knew it would cajole, inform and disturb my political senses regarding the current state of the American Republic.

An Australian friend of mine once told me that the single thing he loves about American's is their unfaltering idealism, that notion that as a young country, with their Bill of Rights and the Constitution, they could make a difference in the world. Having grown up in the United States and moving abroad, I found myself with this same idealism, at times defending the country from criticism by those who had never lived in the country. I was sometimes fierce in my defence; standing on the table, hand on my heart, pushing the party line to the end. (We are not as loved as you might assume.) To a certain extent this idealism still remains - it never really leaves you. But as the years passed, this idealism considerably waned because as one becomes more informed about history, particularly twentieth century history, America's imperialist intentions, similar to a stinging slap across the face, become more than evident.

Mr. Vidal remains an idealist; as America's biographer, he is deeply concerned about his beloved Republic and where, domestically and internationally, it is possibly heading. These essays are confronting and quite disturbing. True to form, however, Mr. Vidal is not a ranting left-wing lunatic, as a few neo-conservatives would have you believe. He points out the problems but also provides solutions.

The latest more disturbing news to come out of America is the "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA), where the old punch -card and lever voting machines are being replaced by Direct Recording Electronic systems, (DREs) where, currently, are being used in thirty-seven states across the country. Anyone with a little knowledge of computers is aware that any information going into them can be altered without detection. Even more telling, the companies who own these machines, because of "privacy laws", are not compelled to let election observers enter the systems to check for suspected influence: Bingo- potential ballad fraud. Why wasn't the American press jumping all over this story? The first hard news about this came out of New Zealand. Any electronic voting system is highly fallible, and therefore should not even be considered.

Similar to Vidal's other two pamphlets, his concerns are repeated here: corporate ownership of political parties; the billions of dollars poured into the defence budget; abolishing the secret agencies i.e. CIA and NSA, turning the economy from a war based to a peace based one. Public supported election campaigns as opposed to corporate contributions, where our politicians are mere bagmen, etc.

These are important and terribly confronting essays. These issues are real and should be read, debated and considered. Vidal is an idealist but a practical one and this book should be read by all concerned citizens whether American or not.


Rating:
Summary: Love it, but...
Review: If you are just dying to know what Gore Vidal thought about the late President Ronald Reagan, and the 1980s in general, this is your book. Political commentary is a tough market. The fruit ages quickly. Thus, much of this book ought to be "off the shelf" by now. Mr. Vidal does provide some views on President Bush and other timely topics. One observation I have to contest: Mr. Vidal's image of the President as a boy dreaming safe in bed while imposing warped visions on the people. That image -- of the dreamer -- with us as the victims of whatever nightmares his fantasy conjures, is undeserved. Name an American President who has had the horrifying experience of Airforce 1 being re-directed and escorted by fighter pilots as on September 11? The idea that the President is not exposed to risk is simply empirically false. More important, I simply do not believe Vidal's implicit assumption that the President is detached emotionally from the decisions he makes. Whether Vidal likes those decisions or not, the President has skin in the game. One observation, however, does merit attention, and it concerns the founding fathers. I believe that Vidal is much closer to the truth, than are many modern commentators, when he assesses the religious propensity of our founding fathers. By the standards of many in the main line movement of Christian thinking, our founding fathers would lack the moral scruples and the solidity of belief required to gain the fundamentalist Christian vote in any election.

Rating:
Summary: Vidal .... In Syndication
Review: If you are just dying to know what Gore Vidal thought about the late President Ronald Reagan, and the 1980s in general, this is your book. Political commentary is a tough market. The fruit ages quickly. Thus, much of this book ought to be "off the shelf" by now. Mr. Vidal does provide some views on President Bush and other timely topics. One observation I have to contest: Mr. Vidal's image of the President as a boy dreaming safe in bed while imposing warped visions on the people. That image -- of the dreamer -- with us as the victims of whatever nightmares his fantasy conjures, is undeserved. Name an American President who has had the horrifying experience of Airforce 1 being re-directed and escorted by fighter pilots as on September 11? The idea that the President is not exposed to risk is simply empirically false. More important, I simply do not believe Vidal's implicit assumption that the President is detached emotionally from the decisions he makes. Whether Vidal likes those decisions or not, the President has skin in the game. One observation, however, does merit attention, and it concerns the founding fathers. I believe that Vidal is much closer to the truth, than are many modern commentators, when he assesses the religious propensity of our founding fathers. By the standards of many in the main line movement of Christian thinking, our founding fathers would lack the moral scruples and the solidity of belief required to gain the fundamentalist Christian vote in any election.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing New Under the Sun
Review: IMPERIAL AMERICA

By Gore Vidal

If you were already feeling that the task of reforming even one part of our federal government is too overwhelming, IMPERIAL AMERICA will only give you more data to confirm your skepticism. In a collection of articles written over the past 30 years, Vidal traces the imperialistic tendencies of the U. S. from the Founders but says that our current self-styled "war-time President" and his evil concept of pre-emptive war fulfills Ben Franklin's prediction at the Constitutional Convention that government, after a course of years, "can only end in Despotism". He does not mask his contempt for Bush's lies ("lies repeated often enough become truth") and abuse of language that serves to "disguise, not illuminate" ("Healthy Forest Initiative", etc.). Vidal the historian tells us that Imperialist attitudes were present in some degree from the nation's beginnings (Native Americans, slaves, Mexican war, Louisiana Purchase) but that real empire-building began with McKinley and T. Roosevelt. Imperial Presidential powers expanded --- always under the guise of "national security" --- under Lincoln and Wilson and have been used to justify all "hot" and "cold" wars since ---Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and Iraq. (Strangely, he faults poor Carter for NOT using executive privilege to fix the energy crisis.) FDR began rearmament, and Truman further militarized the economy, although he realized that he had to "scare the Hell" out of people to make them go along. Vidal notes that Imperialist governments "gain maximum power" over the people when citizens are in constant terror --- a perfect description of this nation's current status. Also, a permanent wartime footing is good for the economy! Vidal is not alone in pointing out that, without an "enemy", there is no justification for the huge proportion of the federal budget going to the Defense industry. Only Eisenhower, a soldier, warned about the dangers of the "military-industrial complex".



The scariest and most jaw-dropping chapter in the book describes how Reagan's preoccupation with Armageddon influenced his relationship with Gorbachev and Israeli foreign policy! Vidal offers his unique opinions and suggestions regarding political parties, special interests, prisons, victimless crimes, and ALL spy agencies. Reminding us that Jefferson suggested a constitutional convention at least once a generation since institutions must "advance, hand-in-hand with the more enlightened human mind", Vidal advocates a parliamentary system and much shorter, smarter Presidential campaigns. He also says that the "irrepressible, invincible ALTRUISM" that leads us to invade countries would be better suited for national health care, improved transportation and schools, and clean air and water.



Vidal is hard to summarize because he is such a brilliant thinker! It's impossible to absorb even a fraction of what he presents.





Rating:
Summary: Mr "I hate America"
Review: More rethoric from somebody who has done more harm than good

Rating:
Summary: Some old essays, some new, but all pure Gore
Review: One wonders what Gore Vidal is up to in this modest collection of (mostly) previously published essays. But one sees after some reading that Vidal's point is, he said it first! America is an imperial power and has been (according to Vidal's calculation) since 1898.

I don't blame Gore for making sure that all this bandying about "the American Empire" that has arisen since George W. and the neo-cons took over the country is old news, already keenly seen by himself decades ago. Certainly the twice- and thrice-published essays presented here are proof that as usual Gore Vidal is one prescient political observer, not to mention that he is one very fine essayist. Note well the subtitle of this book: "Reflections on the United States of Amnesia." Gore is here to tell us that yes we have forgotten our history, and yes what will follow is predictable. Did not Rome go from a republic to a dictatorship with a fabulous empire to so much dust in the wind? (Of course it took a while, so what's to worry?)

The first two essays, "State of the Union: 2004" and "The Privatizing of the American Election" are new. In the first, Vidal continues his practice of imagining that he is the head of a shadow government by presenting his own "state of the union" address. As usual he finds that not all is well in the heartland and something definitely stinks to high heaven somewhere inside the Beltway, and not just in the Oval Office itself. In the second, he chimes in on the shiny new observation being heard from an increasing number of pundits (myself included) that the new (and very old) strategy in American politics is to STEAL THE ELECTION. He notes that Republican-appointed jurists decided the 2000 election in favor of--believe it or believe it not!--the Republican candidate. Furthermore, Vidal hints darkly that all those shiny new voting machines have the capacity to decide elections in non-democratic ways (i.e., by the programmer's algorithmic sly of hand).

The last essay, "Interim Report: Election 2004" is also new, although it is not, measured by the usual Vidalian standard, all that great an essay. It is perfunctory due mostly to the fact that it was written earlier in the year before even most of the primaries had been held. In other words, this book itself is a bit premature. Perhaps Gore should have waited until after the election to write about the election!

Ah, but such is the thrall in which Gore Vidal holds literate America, that even recycled and perfunctory essays by arguably our leading political essayist, are so eagerly anticipated that, like new cars rolling off the assembly line, they are served up ahead of time to quench the craving.

Still "Interim Report..." is a fun essay in that Gore calls for the impeachment of George W. for lying to Congress and the nation. He cites six lies. For a more nearly complete indictment of the mendacious president see Alterman, Eric and Mark Green. The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)Leads America (2004) or Corn, David. The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception (2003).

Well, is this book worth buying? If you are not familiar with the political essays of Gore Vidal, I would definitely say yes. These eleven essays include some of his best, notably "The State of the Union: 1980" which appeared in the August, 1980 edition of Esquire magazine, and "Armageddon" which appeared in both The Nation and The (London) Observer in 1987. What is particularly interesting about "Armageddon" is that what he says about the rapture-intoxicated Reaganites and the fuzzy faith-based thinking of their leader applies even more so to the present occupant of the White House.

For those already familiar with the sharp wit and uncompromising expression of Gore Vidal, I would point out that seven of the eleven essays previous appeared in his biggest and best collection of essays, United States Essays, 1952-1992, a book I highly recommend. I think Vidal, more than almost anyone else I have read understands how the American political system really works. There are others who understand it equally well of course, but those people, like, e.g., Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, and the senior George Bush, etc., were too much involved as players to ever write candidly about a system in which they have swum about like predatory fish. One of the nice things about Vidal is that he is not beholden to a political past (he failed as an office seeker), nor is he an instrument of the system itself. So he can be candid and say unpopular and disagreeable things. And, as anyone who has ever read him knows, he absolutely loves to rock the political boat even if we are navigating through excrement-filled waters. Here he is on a familiar theme, the (less than) a dime's difference between the political parties and who really runs the country:

"...[W]hat has evolved over the years are two pieces of electoral machinery devoted to the acquiring of office--and money. Since neither party represents anything but the interests of those who own and administer the country, there is not apt to be much 'choice' in any election." (p. 126)

This central truth about the way our system operates is lost on most voters. One suspects however that among the nearly fifty percent of the electorate that doesn't bother to vote in most elections, there are a few who know why they don't bother. And certainly Gore knows and is pleased to tell us.

Rating:
Summary: Vidal Pegs the Bush Administration as Extreme Right
Review: Reading this book following the presidential election provides an even greater level of insight into Gore Vidal's "Imperial America" than beforehand. This is the case with writers of insight, and master essayist Vidal certainly fulfills that criterion.

He points out ironically at the end of this fast-paced volume, a collection of some of his most stirring recent essays, how the Republican propaganda machine combined with the mainstream media are so apt to use terms such as "left wing" and "radical" for individuals who in any objective context would be classified as "thoughtful conservatives." He uses this label to describe Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich in his presidential bid. It was Kucinich and those who supported him who sought to conserve the best of America, its resources, its economic opportunities, a rational foreign policy based on international cooperation, while the Bush Administration represents the ultimate in revolutionary radicalism with a strong rightist connection.

Vidal decries the fact that America has gone the route of Empire, a process dramatically heightened under the Administration he refers to as the Cheney-Bush Junta. Vidal contends that the Democratic Party in its anxiety to blend with the corporate establishment, an occupational necessity on the part of those seeking to achieve and hold onto elective offices, has morphed with the rapacious Republicans to the point where an octopus has resulted, bereft of democratic tendencies, with the objective of marching to the tune established by the top one percent of asset holders of the population.

The author sums up Bush succinctly in one short and insightful essay entitled, appropriately, "Armageddon." He begins by writing about Ronald Reagan and how his affability and ability to deliver a speech convincingly led him to be a favorite of an establishment seeking a credible appearing but submissive figurehead. Vidal sees Bush in the same tradition with one additional element, that of his steadfast embracing of the religious evangelical right to the point where he claims to gain information prior to decision making not from reading lengthy and tiresome briefing papers, but by talking to God.

Gore Vidal advocates the very thing that the establishment fears, the convening of a constitutional convention. He believes that this would be the perfect opportunity to bring important issues buried by the corporate media power structure to the fore in the interest of democracy, a people's representation far exceeding the timid exercises known as current political campaigns, which are so frequently replete with corruption in the form of vote additions and subtractions by individuals appropriately positioned in the power structure.

Rating:
Summary: When intellectuals beef...
Review: The idea that Vidal could title this book the U.S. of Amnesia without referencing Foucault's would have been disturbing had I not already been acclimatized to noted scholars' tendency to omit references to other noted scholars with the same idea. If I may be allowed to be as lax with this criticism as Vidal seemed with his references, I'd like to suggest that Foucault has before described the Western, specifically, the U.S.'s relation to history as an amnesiac historicism. Must be nice to write a book and not worry about the dreaded P-word. I take this as another example of making an idea suitable for mass consumption by tailoring it to the audience. Afterall, how many would accept such a statement from a Frenchman.

Rating:
Summary: Third time's the charm
Review: The last of a trilogy of books on Imperial America, Gore Vidal forces Americans to think about what our country has become. From the Federalist Papers to politicians (of both political persuasions) who are bought and paid for by corporations and the richest 1% (heck, many of today's politicians ARE from the upper class), America has turned into a servant of the "Bank": Doing the bidding of the very richest.

I wonder if it hurts Americans to actually think about what this man is saying, and how he gets right to the point by using the foundation of the "founders'" intentions for this country: The Federalist Papers?

Doesn't anyone seem to think it's sad that even though the majority of the essays and "real State of the Union" speeches Vidal reprinted were from the '70's and '80's that nothing has changed? Even sadder, pathetic actually, is the fact that much of what Vidal predicted in those days (as a worse case scenario) has turned into fact (with the same pack of criminals coming back for repeat performances in the current junta)?

Gore Vidal is a historian and a republican par excellence. To use an empty "argument" that he's "done more harm than good" for this country is the height of ignorance. The only ones who have done this country harm are the politicians who take what they want for themselves and screw everyone else (forget the total disregard for the Constitution they swore to uphold).

Let's just hope Benjamin Franklin wasn't right when he "once hinted, sooner or later every republic becomes a tyranny." (page 118)