1. Ragini Srinivasan, managing editor of India Currents, has crafted a powerful response to common deployments of too-narrow definitions of American identity. Here’s an excerpt from her opendemocracy.net op-ed:
“I am an American who has grown increasingly disenchanted with ‘the American story.’ Everyone seems to have one. As evidenced by the biography-laden speeches at the Republican National Convention, John McCain and Sarah Palin are running an entire campaign on the promise of the power of personal narrative: McCain’s tenure as a POW; Palin’s ‘hockey-mom’ origins and moose-hunting proclivities; and, of course, their opponent’s supposedly inferior narrative, his insufficiently American, American story.
“The Republican candidates’ crass deployment of identity politics is depressing; their attempt to lay claim to “true American patriotism” unsurprising at best. But we mustn’t forget that “the American story” is a theme embraced by the Democrats as well, and that the effect of their narratives is equally problematic. Barack Obama has the single mother, Michelle Obama has the city-worker father, Joe Biden has the commute from Wilmington to Washington, D.C. They’re blue-collar, hardworking, working-class, value-filled folks. Their parents pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. Their successes are proof of the endurance of the American dream.”
To read the rest of this powerful piece, go to opendemocracy.
2. What can I even say about Campbell Brown’s “Free Sarah Palin” plea? It was a brilliant bit of journalistic push-back. And maybe it worked. The VP Candidate took a few questions on the road today.
3. And Senator John McCain’s threat to opt out of today’s debate has left me almost speechless. It seems gutsy and goofy at the exact same time. I must admit that I want to see the candiates debate tomorrow, even though I don’t really expect to hear anything new. Plus, I’m even doing this weird thing right now where I’m taking McCain’s gesture as some kind of personal affront. My fantasy would be that if McCain actually doesn’t show up in Mississippi then maybe Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, and Ron Paul could get some time on stage. That would be quite a consolation — and maybe some real sparks will fly.
