The End Of Soft Power
Only a few days are left until Donald Trump’s inauguration. The Democratic Party’s attempt to prevent the elderly billionaire from running for a second term with a (relatively) young, intelligent, experienced opponent in the race has failed. Kamala Harris lost the election, albeit more narrowly than is generally portrayed. Her message of confidence and let’s get it done (“Hard Work IS Good Work”) ultimately did not resonate with the majority of voters. She could not get through the barrage of negative headlines, false reports and gloomy prophecies. Many people have voted against their own interest; for the second time. Most of them just do not know it yet.
The inauguration with flags at half-mast, ordered by incumbent President Biden because of the death of Jimmy Carter (1924-2024), the unlucky, misunderstood, upright, honest 39th President of the United States, annoys the new president. Flags will also be at half-mast during the inauguration ceremony. Not only does he begrudge the centenarian public servant and philanthropist Jimmy the honor bestowed on him; he has described him as a nice guy but a weak, even terrible president. He is also doing everything, absolutely everything, to attract media attention again. Trump is threatening neighbors Mexico and Canada with tariffs, NATO partner Denmark with the annexation of Greenland, and Panama with military occupation of the Panama Canal. According to Trump, this is all in the economic policy interests of the USA.
The Trump-Doctrine
We rub our eyes in amazement, because these sound bites are very reminiscent of the time of imperialism, when the USA viewed all countries in South and Central America as its front yard and banned any European interference on the American continent with the Monroe Doctrine (1823). Trump is probably less concerned with the actual expansion of American territory, to which Canada should ideally be added as the 51st state. He envies old Monroe’s notation in the history books and is looking for ways to export MAGA (MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN), given the Trump label, ideally or verbally. The Trump Doctrine is, of course, intended to become even bigger and more beautiful and begins with an intervention in the geography books: The Gulf of Mexico is to be unilaterally renamed the Gulf of America by decree.
Carter, Hollywood And Trump
Half-mast, the passing of President Carter and the devastating fires in L.A.: It could not be more symbolic. With Tinsel Town, the Pacific blue dream of America*, symbolized in countless Hollywood films, goes up in flames. And this affects us, the transatlantic people who value and love the USA as well. No other country has been more influenced by American culture than post-war West Germany. GIs, jazz, coolness and bubble gum fascinated the former war children; T.V. Series, pop culture and Hollywood blockbusters their children. The “Americans” were always a little cooler, more modern, more carefree, more daring. The vastness of the American West, depicted in the Western films of the 1950s, awakened a longing for freedom and wide open spaces in former Karl May readers. That was where you wanted to go. The customs were rough, but the cowboys and farmers were fair. The good guys and the bad guys were clearly distinguished from each other.
These films have long since lost their innocence, and yet current series like Yellowstone continue to build on this myth of individualism and white masculinity. Ronald Reagan promoted the myth of the righteous cowboy who sorted things out himself. He attacked the state, which he considered the cause of all evil. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s social policy of the 30s and 40s was forgotten, and it was only President Biden who would build on FDR’s policies for the middle class. Biden turned his back on the “trickle down” belief, namely that tax breaks for the ultra-rich would also benefit families with small and middle incomes via investments.
Biden’s plan was to enable Americans to live a more worry-free life through targeted social policy in the healthcare system, in family policy, in the labor market, through the cancellation of horrendous student loans and a smart, sustainable investment policy in the future of the country. Unfortunately, his considerable efforts will only be fully effective during the term of a president who describes these policies as communist and corrupt. He will claim the successes for himself and at the same time tear down everything that can be torn down from Biden’s policies; if only to sell himself in the public spotlight as the greatest American president of all time.
The American Dream Has Shattered
So what does all this have to do with us? Way too much. Politically as well as culturally. Europe has to get along with the new America; we are too dependent on the US military shield. The economic dependencies are enormous. Nevertheless, Europe must become more independent and reflect on its strengths. We have come a long way and former enemies now sit peacefully at the common European table. NATO is our ticket to survival against Russia’s expansionist hunger for power. We have known this for many years, but we did not really want to believe it. It probably would have gone well with Kamala Harris in charge, although the situation had already become a little more uncomfortable for Europe in the Obama administration. He looked towards Asia and urged the alliance partners in Europe to do more on their own.
However, one thing cannot be fixed in the decades to come. The American dream has fallen apart for us Germans. America no longer symbolizes “the shining city upon a hill” (Reagan quotes Matthew 5: 14-16 in 1989), the city that shows the rest of the world the right path. The soft power that was so successful and that no country in the world could rival, the magic of the American way of life, Hollywood and New York, has lost its luster compared to the pompous power posturing of the MAGA voters. America’s promise to always strive for equality and justice for all, to support the weak, to overcome hurdles and setbacks on this long journey, yes, to make Martin Luther King’s dream of the “promised land” come true: This promise rings hollow today. American society is deeply divided. Now comes a president who, in his own need for recognition, is increasingly deepening this division. Fears and resentment deliberately stoked by Trump and Co. among those who feel economically and socially left behind or who indulge in religious daydreams of a Christian, white nation have had a significant influence on the election. Add to them the opportunists in the business and financial sector, whose interest is in abolishing regulations in order to make even more profits. One looks in vain among them for reason, decency and respect not only for their political opponents, but also for those who do not fit into the male-female mold.
The Potency Of Soft Power
Where has American optimism gone? The American Dream has always been a promise that inspired many immigrants to seek their fortune in the Land of the Free. Many found it, or at least gave their children a better future than they ever had. Now a large number of them are threatened with deportation. The wealth of the USA, both economically and culturally, is based on the many hard-working hands of those who moved there and their descendants.
The symbols of freedom and peace will no longer have the same effect on the freedom movements of this world, on civil rights activists and freedom fighters in dictatorships. Chinese students today would probably no longer choose the Statue of Liberty as an ideal weapon against the regime and draw strength from Lady Liberty for resistance. And we, the travel world champions living in peaceful Germany, are considering whether we still want to go there to explore the vastness of the American West, the unique flair of New York and the beauty of the Great Lakes. Would we still advise our children to study for a year at one of the great universities in the USA, which has forever shaped my life and that of many friends? I would tell my son: Better go to Canada before it is demoted to the 51st state in the USA.
A few days ago, Trump’s counterpart in terms of character and integrity was lying in state in the Capitol in Washington D.C., where the mob raged four years ago. Humility, honesty and humanity in politics will be buried with President Carter.
And now Hollywood, which MAGA sees as liberal and corrupt, is also on fire! There is no expression of sympathy among them for those affected and Trump is using the disaster to blame and denigrate California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom. It is almost as if we are in the wrong film, a dystopian film with a vision of a bleak future.
No doubt, it will take a long time for the USA, the world, to recover from the second Trump presidency. But it will, also because there is the other—not insignificant—half of Americans. These are people like the experienced diplomat who, now retired, joined the “Indivisible” network to overcome the social divide that cuts through all classes. Or the daughter of Cuban immigrants who works part-time to help refugees on the Texas-Mexico border. There are the many podcasters who, out of frustration with the established media and their dealings with Trump and Co., are finding new ways to inform the public independently and expertly. The stress is visible on all of them, as the stakes are very high this time. The foundations of democracy, the separation of powers and thus the pillars of the free democratic basic order are in danger of being eliminated.
Going Against The American Trend
American trends usually find their echo in Germany a few years later. The tone in the ongoing election campaign in Germany is rough, the political opponent is carelessly defamed. If a democratic party like the Greens is seen as an enemy by the conservative CSU and therefore excluded from a potential coalition, that must worry us very much. There will no longer be simple majorities in Germany. It must be possible to overcome differences, to endure conflicts and—in the interest of the basic democratic order—to find common ground among the parties operating within the framework of the Basic Law and to implement it politically—for the benefit of the citizens. The broken Ampel coalition (traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP) has lost its credibility and has only increased disillusionment with politics among many people. Under no circumstances should the parties follow the American example in the election campaign, not even just “a little” in order to gain a few percentage points in the election.
The advantage that American trends appear in Germany with a time delay is that we can take a closer look at the deterrent examples. Nothing is inevitable. Maybe that is what we can learn from the USA: the sometimes naive and yet so effective “can do” attitude. We should begin by changing the narrative, see and make visible the good and the beautiful, the richness of and the freedoms in our own country, which American boys have helped us and Europe to achieve. This does not make the problems on the labor market, environmental concerns or the threat from authoritarian forces disappear. Shifting focus to the positive achievements in our society might remind us why we should vote and get involved. With reason, intellect and empathy we can better identify the causes of problems than with emotional blame, which does not contribute in the slightest to improving the situation. Maybe then will we see again that we have it so much better than most people on this blue planet. The future is in our hands.
* “America” is used interchangeably with “USA” but kept because the term carries cultural connotations, especially in Germany.
