The Secret Stead is the pen name of a UK-based writer and
Giffords had been one of 20 names on a "hit list" issued by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin on her Facebook page, complete with graphics of a rifle-like telescopic sight.
The self-described pit-bull with lipstick who uses the slogan "Don't retreat, reload", Republican Palin had publicly marked Democrat Giffords in a list of those she wanted to waste at mid-term elections in 2010. It seems that a lone, misguided and mentally unbalanced white young American, lured in by the destructive talk of American politics, turned the talk into action and shot Giffords in the head, while giving the rest of us a glimpse into pit-bull Palin's America.
In Palin's defence, however, the responsibility of the attack on the Democrat politician lies first and foremost on the shooter; America's very own pit-bull could neither foresee what would happen (some would say she doesn't have the necessary intelligence), nor did she want it to happen. When Palin called for supporters to go forth and shoot detractors (read that as anyone with a different outlook) she was only speaking metaphorically, because she is for America. If you're not for America, you must be against America, right? And Palin is definitely for America, unlike (as Palin has said) the current President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
The economic situation, unpopular policies and some bad luck notwithstanding, it's no secret that Obama is failing in the eyes of the American public. Proof of this is in the ever-increasing range of Palin's voice; the more disgruntled Americans get, the more they will turn an ear towards what this hockey mum has to say.
For example, while Giffords' shooter was complaining of English illiteracy on his YouTube channel, pit-bull Palin was aligning herself with the English poet and playwright Shakespeare, after she offered her opinion on a proposal to build a mosque in the vicinity of the September 11th Ground Zero site and was criticised for her language skills.
"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate," Palin wrote in 2010. When it was pointed out that there was no such word as "refudiate", her response was that Shakespeare created new words, too.
Arguably, however, his wasn't out of ignorance, as was Palin's malapropism; which to the trained eye looks like an illiterate mistake rather than the creative invention of a genius dramatist. New words are generally created to add new dimensions; although what extra dimensions Palin will add to the image of the pit-bull is anybody's guess.
What is obvious, though, is that the world can no longer sit back and laugh at this blundering, rather poorly educated (but well-intentioned) woman, because the more people listen to her and believe in her views, the more grave the situation - and the consequence of the actions of those sharing those beliefs - becomes for politics in America. The zealot that shot Giffords in the head is the face of Middle America; and with Americans becoming so polarised as to treat those with differing opinions as treasonous enemies, can politicians safely go down amongst the electorate and listen to what people want any more?
Naturally, the attack on Giffords will provoke national soul searching, as these episodes are always apt to do; but what will change exactly? Unfortunately, political assassinations in America are not rare, the last one was in 2008. Some will also ask why the short-term memory of Americans is only as deep as their wallet pockets, even though the importance of the economy is only one major factor in this land of deeply contradictory views. And although someone should explain to Palin that dysfunctional politics does not befriend a strong economy, Obama's failures are not merely the cash debts left behind by past presidencies, either.
Indeed, what made Obama attractive to voters in the first place is now his major flaw in power: He is neither black nor white. He is too intelligent (and too morally primed) to easily slide into the usual Manichean image of good versus evil to get the public to side with him. Obama could use the shooting of Giffords as a political tool if he wanted in the tradition of dirty politics, but his behaviour in and out of office has shown he is above negative campaigns, although many in America will not thank him for it. It won't be because they don't care, but because they won't understand the subtlety of decent sensibilities.
The previous president, George W. Bush had been a master at perpetuating the world-view of the Earth pitted in an urgent struggle between purely good and purely evil nations. It was the most crucial feature of the outlook of the Bush presidency; as he once said, "I don't do nuance". Neither does Palin; she can undeniably cause a storm of "them versus us", and she speaks the language of many Americans, who are looking for someone to blame for their current woes. For there must always be someone to blame, as long as it isn't the man (or woman) in the mirror.
And why do we living across the seas care about American politics? We care, because America with her quirky habits (many of which are immanent in Palin) has changed the world, and we Europeans have been trying to understand Americans for centuries.
In America, the land of the free, they ban books in schools and have the most intrusive intelligence agencies in the world. Known for creating some of the world's most iconic imagery, it has sexed up its young for the almighty dollar (in 1980 a 15 year-old Brooke Shields had whispered seductively that she wore no underwear with her denims), while also helping to shape what is probably one of the first iconic advertising figures for children - the modern image of a jolly, plump, white-bearded Santa Claus.
It's a conundrum musically, too, offering a large cauldron of mix and match that seems to turn out the same old stew rather than the immense diversity you expect it to bring to the boil, either because whatever isn't in the good ol' American Songbook ain't worth listening to, or once a money-making formula is found, it's done to death.
America has unmistakeably changed the world, and still has the potential to do so, but the future is coming with a note of warning. The world is changing with economic power said to be moving from the West to the East again after the past few centuries, and America for the first time needs to catch up with the world, rather than lead the way, if it wants to halt that decline.
At this critical time, America actually needs a leader with Obama's soft diplomacy, rather than a pit-bull chomping at the lead to make America a force to be reckoned with once more. If history has taught Palin nothing, if she believes the "do or die" attitude in politics will work yet again, then it will ultimately be self-defeating. For until we realise our actions come with consequences, we won't have seen the last gun held at the head of democracy. Her attitude will become her personal Frankenstein, a monster she can't control in the search for acceptance.
And if the good people of her country help her to succeed, believing it truly to be the way forward, then all I can say is: God help bless America.
Published 10 January, 2011
