Normally when someone writes about the split personality in the American psyche they are referring to the phenomenon Gwynne Dyer described by saying, "Half of the United States is very much like Canada; the other half is very like Iran." The simpler version is the distinction between the so-called Red and Blue States. I am starting the think of the two versions of America, the halves of its split personality as the idealistic version put forward in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the cynical version evidenced by its amoral calculation and power politics.
The first version might seem nothing more than a fantasy. Placed up against the other, harder, more opportunistic reality we see everyday it doesn't seem like much. Anyone trying to understand American policy (foreign and domestic) will struggle with making sense of any of it until they completely reject the idea of the United States as the "Champion of Democracy", the "Free World", and the last, best hope for reason. The "better angels of [their] nature" don't hold sway in the government very often or for very long. The purpose of the American government is to ensure the maximum benefit for those who govern (and those who get them elected). When Germany bailed out Greece as part of the sovereign debt crisis, no one was naive enough to think they were doing it out of altruism. They did it because they were afraid of the effect the collapse of Greek debt would have on German institutions. Yet, when America invaded Iraq they did it under the pretense of "bringing freedom to Iraqis". A ridiculous lie that the media repeated as an article of faith.
America's foreign adventures have always been predicated on (wholly and demonstrably false) claims of defending democracy, bringing liberty, and/or fighting communism. The CIA has, in the last half of the previous century, deposed or assassinated democratically elected leaders around the globe under the pathetic excuse of defending liberty and democracy. Someone looking solely at the historical record might justifiably wonder whether there is any basis for believing the more noble aspect of the American soul is anything other than a convenient alibi for doing thoroughly evil shit. As an interesting side note, the original plans for the invasion of Iraq was called "Operation Iraqi Liberty" until someone pointed out the unfortunately accurate acronym. The only reason one can speak of America as a bastion of democracy or liberty or freedom or anything other than naked power and barely concealed corruption is so many of the common people of America actually believe their ideals should be reflected in the things the government does in their name.
This strand of idealism never dominates and only infrequently mitigates American foreign policy. It certainly never helped Iran, Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any of the other countries the United States has invaded, destabilized or forced into the Washington Consensus. But without it the power of the office of the President would be almost limitless. And Presidents are not famous for their discretion or charity in the use of that tremendous power.
I'm not a Constitutional scholar. I have to look up the Amendments if I want to remember what any of them after the 5th are about. I haven't studied the Constitutions of other countries. I know more about the governing of Republican Rome than I do about the European Union. But it seems kind of important to me the Constitution is largely dedicated to defining things the government can't do. The Amendments are almost exclusively dedicated to limiting governmental power. "Congress shall make no law..." Given the rate at which the Amendments are being decimated by the current (and some would argue permanent) state of emergency that gives the President extraordinary powers, some might argue the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are interesting documents with no relevance to anyone except historians. Certainly, the Supreme Court is making no effort to defend them. I wrote (but didn't publish) a list of recently enacted laws or revelations of law breaking in violation of the protections guaranteed to Americans but it got a little too long. People got exercised when the Patriot act allowed the CIA, NSA, and a host of new acronyms to violate 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 14th amendments rights but the "War of Terror" took priority - and the Patriot Act got renewed to the surprise of no one. The "War on Terror" followed the "War on Drugs" but preceded the "Mortgage Crisis" and the "Sovereign Debt Crisis". I think it's interesting the government's response to what it considers (or depicts as) wars is essentially the same as its response to economic crises.
Anyway, why do I think the "kinder gentler" America is anything other than a myth? Because everyone who serves in the military takes an oath to "defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic" and some of the people who take that oath take it fucking seriously. There is no organization with a greater moral authority to bring the American government to account than "Veterans for Peace". I'm not given to blind adulation of veterans. My grandfather and great-uncle were veterans of WWII and when my brother and I expressed an admiration for their heroism, they laughed in our faces. They said they weren't heroes, they were fools. And they resented the government for using their youthful ignorance against them. That pretty much shaped my opinion of every military everywhere. But I know of no more moving demonstration against the American invasion of Iraq than the veterans who lined up to throw the medals they had received in that war over the fence that surrounds the White House. They wanted to return them to the President directly. And one can imagine the change that would have created in American public opinion had it been allowed to happen. Unfortunately for the American people, and the American military most of all, the President's men were not foolish enough to let the veterans anywhere near the President.
There are millions of Americans who naively believe the lies their government tells them. There are millions more who don't but still believe America should be the nation its founders wanted it to be. They might be the best hope for those of us who are citizens of their Empire but without the rights and protections citizens receive. Of course, it's also possible my belief in the power of American idealism is a form of intellectual laziness. I think Edward Snowden might think that. For today I don't care. I need a little hope today.
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