From the editor: Oh, say, can you say, "An American Life"
Michael DiBiasio, Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Opinion
There is something familiar about the title of Sarah Palin's new memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life," and it has to do with the last three words.
"An American Life." Where have I read Uncle Sam's unofficial stamp of certification before?
Ah, yes, I believe it was inked by Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator" himself, in his autobiography "An American Life." Or was it that other G.O.P biography "Condoleezza Rice: An American Life"? No, it must have been the 11-part documentary "Leonard Bernstein - An American Life." I gues it could have been "Garcia: An American Life," Blair Jackson's account of everybody's favorite hippie and Grateful Dead guitarist.
Wait, I remember now. It's my Facebook status (Mike DiBiasio: An American Life).
Consider these American lives, won't you? How diverse in occupation: Presidents, secretaries of state, college newspaper editors, classical musicians, acid-jam musicians.
So diverse even, that the titles of their books begin to muddle the concept of the American life: Let's face it, life in Wasilla, Ala., doesn't exactly resemble a Grateful Dead concert, so in this great nation, what constitues an American life?
Above all else there is citizenship. That alone classifies any home-grown or naturalized person as American, but beyond stating someone's citizenship, proclaiming yours "an American life" is nothing more than a load of hot air. With that kind of vague pigeonholing, I gain no more insight into a person's life and mind than I do when I pass them at the post office, but that doesn't stop politicians from masquerading their citizenship as a lifestyle and publishing houses from putting attractive words on their books.
Whether these authors are trying to get votes or avoid some kind of modern McCarthyism, their titles are self-serving, hollow and possibly even offensive to some. Shame on any politician or diplomat who marries the name of this country to a particular, perhaps preferred, lifestyle in the interest of getting get votes or swaying opinion -- last I checked, lives of poverty and hunger were just as inherent to the U.S as being a summertime lifeguard, a starting point guard or a grass smoker.
So when you are writing your memoirs, being interviewed by your biographer, traveling abroad or even waiting in line at the post office, remember that what truely makes us Americans are our freedoms. What makes us individuals is what we choose do with those freedoms
Have a good break,
Michael DiBiasio
Editor-in-Chief
"An American Life." Where have I read Uncle Sam's unofficial stamp of certification before?
Ah, yes, I believe it was inked by Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator" himself, in his autobiography "An American Life." Or was it that other G.O.P biography "Condoleezza Rice: An American Life"? No, it must have been the 11-part documentary "Leonard Bernstein - An American Life." I gues it could have been "Garcia: An American Life," Blair Jackson's account of everybody's favorite hippie and Grateful Dead guitarist.
Wait, I remember now. It's my Facebook status (Mike DiBiasio: An American Life).
Consider these American lives, won't you? How diverse in occupation: Presidents, secretaries of state, college newspaper editors, classical musicians, acid-jam musicians.
So diverse even, that the titles of their books begin to muddle the concept of the American life: Let's face it, life in Wasilla, Ala., doesn't exactly resemble a Grateful Dead concert, so in this great nation, what constitues an American life?
Above all else there is citizenship. That alone classifies any home-grown or naturalized person as American, but beyond stating someone's citizenship, proclaiming yours "an American life" is nothing more than a load of hot air. With that kind of vague pigeonholing, I gain no more insight into a person's life and mind than I do when I pass them at the post office, but that doesn't stop politicians from masquerading their citizenship as a lifestyle and publishing houses from putting attractive words on their books.
Whether these authors are trying to get votes or avoid some kind of modern McCarthyism, their titles are self-serving, hollow and possibly even offensive to some. Shame on any politician or diplomat who marries the name of this country to a particular, perhaps preferred, lifestyle in the interest of getting get votes or swaying opinion -- last I checked, lives of poverty and hunger were just as inherent to the U.S as being a summertime lifeguard, a starting point guard or a grass smoker.
So when you are writing your memoirs, being interviewed by your biographer, traveling abroad or even waiting in line at the post office, remember that what truely makes us Americans are our freedoms. What makes us individuals is what we choose do with those freedoms
Have a good break,
Michael DiBiasio
Editor-in-Chief
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