Will the American Dream still work?
“American Rhapsody. Journey into the deep heart of the United States. To understand the country that determines (still?) the destinies of the world" by Marco Bardazzi read by Tullio Fazzolari
You don't need a crystal ball to predict that what happens in the United States will be the dominant topic of the coming months. It will be talked about non-stop until the presidential elections in November and certainly even after depending on the results of the vote. But it is not the usual scenario for the race for the White House that repeats itself every four years. With the Trump presidency and after the assault on the Capitol, the events of American domestic politics are no longer viewed only with interest but also with a good dose of legitimate concern. The disturbing question that arises is whether something has broken in the balance of the nation that boasts world leadership.
To get an answer you should read “American Rhapsody. A journey into the deep heart of the United States to understand the country that (still?) determines the destinies of the world” by Marco Bardazzi (Rizzoli, 288 pages, 16 euros). The title is in itself a touch of class that could only have come to mind to an attentive connoisseur of American history and culture. Exactly one hundred years ago, in January 1924, George Gershwin finished composing the famous "Rhapsody in Blue" which, just a month later, was played in public for the first time at the Aeolian Hall. It is not just a musical masterpiece whose centenary should rightly be celebrated. In the notes of the "Rhapsody" many have recognized the synthesis of America with its hopes and its contradictions, with the desire for progress and social and ethnic tensions. But above all with the ability to keep all this together, overcoming every difficulty from the great depression of 1929 to the wars, not without difficulty.
Marco Bardazzi's "journey" to America actually retraces an entire century to get to today's problems. The definitive image that he manages to give to the reader is that the true greatness of the United States was not the indisputable economic or military power but a singular form of cohesion that was perhaps not too evident or even rapid in producing good results which, however, in the end were always arrived. The question is whether all this applies to the past or is still possible in the present. Bardazzi's exploration into the deep heart of America helps to understand what puts the balance at risk. Progress or technological innovation has not eliminated inequalities. One percent of the population owns 32 percent of the wealth. The only difference is that he now resides in Silicon Valley. But the most serious unknowns come from politics. It is an anomaly that a non-Republican like Trump has effectively taken over the Republican Party. Nor is it so reassuring that Democrats still have to rely on the octogenarian Biden. The bombastic slogans in the electoral campaign will be of little use and the polls that "American Rhapsody" reports demonstrate that almost all ideals (from patriotism to religious faith) are in decline. All that remains is to continue to believe in the "American dream". And that, at least so far, has always worked.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/il-sogno-americano-funzionera-ancora/ on Sun, 10 Dec 2023 07:11:48 +0000.