The Decade in Politics
1992
1992 was a year of separations. Most obviously, and least interestingly, George
Bush (senior) was separated from the office of the presidency by a moderate Democratic
insurgency captained by the Elvis-like charisma of William Jefferson Clinton.
But the American people were thinking of something else. Diana, Princess of Wales,
became separated from Prince Charles after the long and increasingly frosty
deterioration of their marriage. Initially hailed as the world's fairytale
come-to-life, the strategic alliance of the innocent Lady Spencer and her
Frisbee-eared polo-playing Prince Charming captured the hearts of billions, only to
wither and die under the invasive gaze of Fleet Street and the American tabloids.
Nevermind that the marriage was a stage managed-farce that eventually terminated with
separation and Diana's untimely death in the car wreck that rocked the world. Its
collapse was what was on people's minds.
Meanwhile, around the world, a very different and considerably less maudlin sort of
separation was taking place as America handed over the Clark Air Force and Subic Bay
Naval bases to the government of the Philippines. These military installations were
some of the last remaining vestiges of American colonialism in the old, European sense
of the word, and were given up with much gnashing of teeth amongst military fanatics
and American super-patriots. Overlooked in this transaction of grief and ceremony was
the sweet fact that American cultural hegemony reigned supreme. America's global spell
of desire had sprung from the strengths of classic Hollywood and now flourished like a
house-sized clump of mutant dandelions fertilized by the wicked powers of Disney,
"Baywatch" and any number of American
sci-fi, action and teen romance flicks.
Traditional colonialism — even in its most debased and exploitative (i.e., French)
form — demanded a military presence and the barest motions of lip-service toward
the idea of helping the stupid natives out of their loincloths and into the
sophisticated garb of civilized peoples. But physically pumping the wealth out of
African and Asian colonies proved to be too much for colonial powers like England,
France and Germany, as nascent nationalist movements, combined with the strains of
world war, broke the ties of bondage.
Enter America. Long scornful of the world's imperialist powers (even as it nursed its
own little things
in Panama, Cuba, the Philippines, Guam and elsewhere), America
developed a smarter way to rule the world. From the enormous collective pocket known
as "Hollywood," America pulled a shiny gold watch, which it used to capture the hearts
and minds of billions across the globe. With its other hand, it produced a billy club
of quickly deployable and vicious military power, ready to batter down any leader or
country cheeky enough to stand in its way.
Subic Bay and Clark were salutes to an old, dead way. Their departure was a final
salute to the Roman ideal of empire — a sprawling enterprise that brought roads,
protection, education, new cultural norms and shared gods to disparate, polyglot
people. The new American way hit its prime.
— James Norton (jim@flakmag.com)
