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Years ago, Gerhard Schröder, before accepting the Russian petrodollar, was a guest speaker at a conference held by Britain’s Labour party. During the pauses between his sentences and their translations, the audience members competed to laugh (if he had made a joke) or cheer (if he had made a serious point) to demonstrate their understanding of German. It was ostentatious, but it was the norm at the time. You see, back then, a British liberal was expected to be knowledgeable about continental politics, enjoy drinking claret, and have summer travel plans in regions like Tuscany or Provence. The entire mindset revolved around Europe.
This did not always entail anti-American sentiment, but there was a recognition of the US as different, with its expectations of the government, geographical separation, and religiosity.
How did this polite detachment from America transform into the current state of complete and constant absorption in its public life? Let’s put “woke” aside for a moment. Even moderate liberals in Britain now live in a world filled with Daily Show clips and stacks of the New Yorker. This was not the case a generation ago. Conversely, there is a serene lack of curiosity about the intellectual life of their own continent. When was the last time something European truly captivated the British intelligentsia? Was it during the prime era of Michel Houellebecq or the popularity of Scandinavian TV dramas? This is a Brexit of the mind.
This Americanization would be more comprehensible if the US were an even greater global force. However, its share of global output is smaller than it was in 2001 when I heard Schröder speak. The dollar represents a smaller portion of currency reserves. America’s military now faces a formidable rival. There is less reason, not more, to look westward. Yet America’s psychic hold on the British intellectual elite has only strengthened over time.
Last week, against my usual preference for avoiding events in west London, I attended the launch of Tomiwa Owolade’s book, This Is Not America, in Holland Park. For years, there has been a need to articulate the argument that US race relations do not align with those in Britain. The prose in the book possesses a tranquility that typically only comes with age, despite the author being in his twenties. The book deserves to succeed in fulfilling its central objective.
However, it has little chance of doing so. Something has changed in liberal Britain, and it predates Brexit. Throughout my life, it was typically the right-wing that immersed itself in Americana. Now, the left has joined them. There is nothing to gain for the US in this. A fixation on America does not equate to being pro-American. British liberals still disagree with the US stance on issues such as Israel, among other things. They just express their disagreement with a rising vocal tone at the end of each sentence.
Furthermore, the temperature of US politics is already high enough without foreigners peering into the fishbowl. It is an awkward predicament to be scrutinized as if the US were a unique world power when, in reality, it is just one of two, and potentially three depending on India.
Therefore, no, I did not see what Colbert said about that matter last night. No, I am not up to date with Pod Save America. I can barely recognize any US TV anchors apart from the one on CNN with the gentle sad eyes, and I lived in the US for four years. In fact, I have friends from Virginia to Venice who are less informed about the politico-media landscape of their own country compared to some individuals in De Beauvoir Town. This behavior is peculiar and unbecoming for fellow citizens.
Perhaps a great power’s cultural influence, much like the charm of an aging gigolo, is the last thing to dissipate. Even after Britain lost its power, there were individuals in Hong Kong and Zimbabwe complaining about their servants and using terms like “just not cricket” in a way that had not been heard in England since 1913. They were referred to as plus anglais que les anglais, embodying a tragicomic imitation. It is ironic how things have come full circle. Let us not be more American than the Americans.
Email Janan at [email protected]
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