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US elections: "the greatest story ever told"
Between the power of narrative and the narrative of power
During her energetic nomination speech, presidential candidate Kameala Harris has presented herself as the guardian of the American dream. The United States of America are, according to her, the ”greatest story ever told”. Rooted in a narrative of eternal progress and individual choice, that story has had a great impact on the world. From military power and economic hegemony to the ideal of life for billions of people worldwide – without its narrative of cultural superiority, the US may have never arrived where they are today. What can we learn from the power of narrative and the narrative of power at a time where humanity’s very survival is at stake?
The citizens of the United States of America are called to vote for their next President. Within a tense global and national context, two candidates with seemingly opposing worldviews are mobilizing their narrative, communication strategies, and political messaging. In this article, we will look at the characteristics of the “American story”, as well as the rhetorical means employed by Harris to embody that story. We will ask how the “shadows” of the story are appearing in the US today and which perspectives regenerative communications can offer to promote reconciliation, reorientation, and regeneration in the US and beyond.
The hegemonic narrative of modernity
Harris’ speech at the Democratic National Congress starts with setting the scene of what US democracy seems to be about: “let’s get to business.” The rational choice in the “greatest democracy in the history of the world” she portrays is between dictatorship and democracy. Appealing to nationalism, she calls the US the “greatest nation on Earth.” In a sort of capitalist populism, she claims that “my entire career I had only one client: the people.” The “greatest story” she conjures is reflecting the liberal founding myth of the country: “everything is possible”, “you can become everything you want”, “we are not going back”. History, that’s endless progress – a future “always worth fighting for”.
The narrative both Harris and Trump are referring to and claiming to represent is reflected beyond the realm of political communications. It is constitutive for the understanding of US democracy, of the economy, and of the mediatized US-culture that has dominated the world for the past one hundred years. This narrative is based on the premise of rational individuals (“individual ego”) competing on a market, or around values to choose their future as part of a nation-state (“collective ego”). The catchphrases of the freedom of choice, the rule of law, and common values are regularly mobilized to appeal to that narrative.
In consideration of the great polarization within the US and in global geopolitics, she portrays herself as the defender of democracy and the status-quo. This positioning is however incoherent with her promise of progress – to “chart anew path forward as Americans”, except for her engagement for extending minority rights, including people of colour or LGBT people. Her political programme is mostly one of preservation, including the right to abortion, MediCare, schoolfunding, or the continuous military presence of the US in the world. Especially the US military power is presented as a source of pride: “we have the most lethal fighting force in the world.”
A heroic posture with long shadows
During her speech, Harris adopts a confident, trustful, and joyful posture. To embody the image of her as heroic and combative protector of the American dream, she uses a series of techniques to persuade voters. She creates a sense of proximity by saying “we are all in this together” and referring to popular values like family, safety, respect, or justice. Furthermore, she presents her life journey as a consistent and continuous straight line: “from the courthouse tothe white house, that has been my life’s work.” This leaves little room for doubt, internal challenges or events that don’t fit the storyline – little room for what makes us human and lets us grow into new potential.
Perhaps like never before, her speech is cast in long shadows. The previously unsaid, unseen, and invisible is becoming painfully obvious. The US today are profoundly divided – among social groups, from nature, and from the perspectives of other cultures. Although claiming to want to leave behind the “divisive battles of the past” she does neither mention them, nor offer perspectives on how to do that. Under the US narrative of progress, there is no space for the shadows, for trauma, for the other side of life that is not a polished happy ending. The endless suffering created by the military, economic, and cultural hegemony of the US is ignored. The history of the US rooted in the killing of indigenous people is put aside. The internal divisions and conflicts, brushed aside for the sake of “the future” – postponing what we must deal with today.
The narrative of power and the power of narrative
The narrative of power that Harris is serving is the one of what a person andnation can achieve. It is supporting the self-understanding of a “god-chosennation”, and thus government, that builds the world after its image – ever more, ever faster, ever bigger. There is no limit – “homo deus” (human god) as Yuval Harari wrote. The material outcomes from military and space technology to skyscapers and the family house shall speak for themselves. However, that power has cracks – it omits the violence it has created. It omits the other side of the coin that Trump and “US enemies” represent.
Harris’ speech also underlines the power of narrative that the American dream represents through media, PR, and diplomacy, among others. As our world is moving to the abyss – from war perspectives to biodiversity and climate breakdown – hard truths are revealing themselves about the narratives of our civilizations. It seems that they have blinded us from being conscious about ourselves, the nature of reality, and others’ perspectives. Especially political narratives are a very narrow filter of looking at reality. Against that background: how can we use the power of narrative in healthier ways?
Towards regenerative narratives
If we are to move beyond the destructive impacts of hegemonic narratives, it seems key to understand what makes them toxic. This involves recognizing that the narrative around the American dream is based on false assumptions on human nature: the pervasiveness of rational choice, the “special place” of humans above nature, and the denial of natural boundaries that make life possible, among others. Indeed, it seems to be the omittance of a material reality, the voice of nature, that this narrative serves. Furthermore, the narrative has silenced its own history rooted in the violence against indigenous people, as well as the trauma involved in turning the back to the British Empire.
If this narrative has filtered out many aspects of reality, one of the main tasks for regenerative narratives will be to hold space for a plurality of perspectives and worldviews. It means honouring past pains, divergent points of view, conflict, and not-knowing how we will go forward. From that place of not-knowing only, we can leave the tightly defined (often technological) determinism of modern narratives behind. It means deeply listening to what has been forgotten, ignored and marginalized. Creating communication spaces for digesting the pain and trauma of the US history may not be an easy task, but may be the only one that offers reconciliation and the potential of a thriving future. With her own personal story, Kamala Harris could potentially be a person that bridges divides and dares reconnect with the roots we come from.
