Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia

The fact that half of those qualified to vote don’t vote in presidential elections is proof that the third republic is neither credible nor truly legitimate

Until recently, the only thing that I knew about Gore Vidal was that he authored the script of Caligula, which he later disowned. Then one day I have been killing time on YouTube and found «The Cryrto-Nazi» debate between William F. Buckley, whose intelligence I admire, and Gore Vidal. After that, I have decided to right that wrong and read «Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia».

The book starts out as an anti-George W. Bush pamphlet. Gore Vidal constantly exposes his hypocrisy, wars, even accuses him of breaking of the False Statement Statute. Even his environmental legislation and anti-HIV/AIDS efforts has been described as cynical attempts to gut regulation and a way to please the Christian Right.

In the second part of Imperial America Gore Vidal tackles the creating of the American empire. In the author’s opinion, the Empire started in 1898, when the US has acquired Philippines. Nevertheless, until the end of the Second World War, the Empire had a very limited influence. Gore Vidal accuses Harry Truman of deliberately misleading the public about a scope of Soviet threat in order to start the Cold War.

Then, Gore Vidal disembarks the glamorous idea of the American Revolution. He points out that the constitutional convention was merely a business meeting. The Founders just merely adopted the best possible variant, and then Gore Vidal attacked the famed «checks and balances» as a way to disguise the anti-democratic foundation of the US. In addition, he pokes the religious rights by an anti-religious quotes from The Founders («This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there was no religion in it» - J. Adams). That is why, in the author’s opinion, the US needs a new Constitution with a Swiss model as a perfect example.

The best thing about this book is that it spurs your intellectual curiosity. Gore Vidal makes lots of rather controversial propositions (legalizing drugs, the stealing of elections by computers, the Secret Bank which rules the US, three Republics) and you want to do some self-research in order to support or oppose his ideas. Especially it concerns the part about creating of the Constitution – it makes you curious and in order to satisfy your little curiosity you have to check The Federalist Papers.

«Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia» is a well-researched critique of the American policy. If you are interested in such books, then read, it is quite easy and understandable to the general reader. In addition, I would like also to recommend a book by Richard Posner «Pragmatism, Law and Democracy» which, in some aspects, support Gore Vidal’s claims from a legal point of view.

On the Law of Nations by Daniel Patrick Moynihan

A political culture from which the idea of international law has largely disappeared places its initiatives in jeopardy

Thanks to the Wikipedia, I knew that Daniel Patrick Moynihan was a member of the United States Senate from New York for 24 years. Nevertheless, until recently I have never done any serious research about DPM. It all has changed one fall day in Moscow at home while I was searching the C-SPAN website for some interesting Senate videos. I have decided to watch 1992 debate about Freedom Support Act (U.S. Aid to Former Soviet Union). It was short and participants were mostly extraordinary: Claiborne Pell, Dick Lugar, Alan Cranston, and Mitch McConnell (he is not extraordinary at all except for making history with self-filibustering his own proposal last year). Finally, Daniel Patrick Moynihan rose to speak and it was grandiloquent. Firstly, instead of talking about the pros and cons of this bill (financial obligations, opening new markets for American products and etc.) Moynihan told a story about meeting with The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR, which took place in 1990. Secondly, Moynihan style of clothing (bow tie, bookish spectacles) and his look were much more suited for Harvard lecture hall. Thirdly, his voice and patrician style of speaking, which you could hear only in BBC movies about Middle England nowadays. Of course, I have decided to read some of his books…

«On the Law of Nations» was published in 1990 at the epochal point of world history. The Cold War has effectively finished and in the United Nations USSR and USA, for the first time since Suez Crisis (1956), found a common ground in punishing aggressor, Saddam Hussein. In addition, the 1990s were proclaimed the «Decade of International Law» by the UN resolution 44/23 of 17 November 1989.

Book starts with the quote from The Constitution of the United States (treaties… shall be the supreme law of the land). Then author recounts his talk to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. This talk took place in 1979 and the main theme was the proposition that the US has abandoned the concept that international relations can and should be governed by a regime of public international law. This theme is solidified by numerous violations of international law by the Reagan Administration: death squads in Salvador, the mining of Nicaraguan harbors and Iran-Contra. In addition, regrettably, the intellectual and political thought of the 1980s regarded international law as an illusion or an obstacle to the American interests («Real men did not cite Grotius»).

Moynihan makes a thesis that this nihilism and disdain for the international law was not the core part of the American legal theory and practice and he is trying to find out the reasons for it. As he points out, in the 19^th century, the US resolved Alabama claims with Britain by the means of arbitration, instead of war. In addition, the Federalist Papers and the Declaration of Independence placed international law as a vital part of the American legal system, and the Founding Fathers respected international law (or as it was called then «the natural law»).

The Senator makes a point that after Treaty of Versailles has been killed in the United States Senate international law lost its attractiveness. There was a renaissance during FDR years, starting with joining the International Labor Organisation and build-up of the United Nations. Then, after the beginning of Cold War international law again became declarative, especially international humanitarian and human rights.

The 1990’s presents an opportunity for the Renaissance and adherence to international law is the way to insure safe, civilized proper behavior as the US approach the next century. Moynihan see first positive signs with the adoption East-West Code of Conduct, Soviets making case for The Hague Court and European Conventions…

Personally, I would like to say that it is a brilliant book and, since works of Churchill, De Gaulle and Talleyrand by Duff Cooper (1932), I have never read such intellectually compelling book written by a politician. And, sadly, Moynihan dreams hasn’t come true because international law nowadays even more disdained  and violated, Iraq War is the perfect example. However, maybe if someone would read this book, he would understand the importance of international law and would follow in Mister Moynihan footsteps.

Sadly, the breed of Moynihan-like statesman is gone and we must bring it back, starting with ourselves, to make the world a better place. And in conclusion, I yield the floor with this review (US Senate word: senator who has been recognized to speak stops when she completes her remarks and terminates her recognition) and I hope that after reading this book someone would take the floor and stress the importance of the international law.