Soft imperalism
In Cleveland to see Bruce Springsteen (and That One) I am struck again by how American world dominance has a twin track approach, its purposes to achieve.
There is the McCain approach - fight the good fight. And there is the approach of the American left - seduction, for want of a better word. Springsteen is a lefty but he is also an agent of American dominance - few people of my age (47) in the western world would not instantly recognise him and be able to hum a few of his songs. He is a part of my life, and yours. He would not consider himself an imperialist but his soft imperialism is what so upsets anti-Americans who think that Springsteen and his record labels and acolytes are somehow foisting themselves on us all. They are not. We invite them in and we will continue to invite them in.
American military power - celebrated so strongly at Republican rallies I have attended recently - can never have the potency of a Springsteen song, hummed from New Jersey to Jeddah, from Moscow to Cape Town. If Obama becomes president, what happens to the American brand?
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