Before it’s too late...

Margaret Atwood’s Letter to America  expresses her concern for America’s growing quest for power and what the results could be. She tells a story of growing up beside America, using examples of popular characters to describe the changes in her perception of America. She talks about characters that people can relate to as fun, such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Elvis and the Andrews Sisters. The symbol of America becomes more grown up as she mentions characters from books she read as a child. These characters are all “courageous in their own ways”. They deal with larger issues such as racism, patriotism and loyalty at a level that can be understood and appreciated by younger readers. Next, Atwood mentions a number of great authors, known for their support of issues such as democracy and environmentalism. She mentions key characters in classic movies, such as Lillian Gish who was ‘saintly’ in The Night of the Hunter; Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront was honourable and courageous. All of these references give examples of the good in America.

Atwood acknowledges that even while she believed Americans were mostly just and strong, they equated money and power to strength. They printed God on their money, mixing power with “the things of God”. The intention of being a nation that helps others, a “city upon a hill” is being lost.  It is becoming a country who dominates instead of helping. In an attempt to explain her view, she gives the example of us as Romanized Gaul’s, peering over the wall at the Romans, asking “Why is the haruspex eyeballing the sheep’s liver?” The haruspex examined the entrails of animals that were sacrificed, looking for the will of the gods. Is this just an excuse to sacrifice?

She wrestles with whether or not she should write this Letter to America, wondering if it is her place. She rationalizes that as a person affected deeply by America’s actions, it IS her place. It needs to be said. Americans have begun to sacrifice others, as well as their own freedom, to be the most powerful. She mentions the US invasion on Iraq and acknowledges them as yet another sacrifice at the hands of the Americans in their search for power. She then focuses on what America is doing to America. They are taking their own freedom. They are trading natural resources for military advances. They are creating a nation of crime. Will they continue until all that they touch turns to gold, at any cost?  She warns that if they proceed as they are, they will lose what they value the most, their freedom and respect it. They are breeding a nation of greed, prejudice and disregard for the law. They are making their own laws. America IS powerful, and affects all nations, the Jolly Green Giant on a rampage, trampling other small plants and animals in its way. What will become of all of us?  She implores them to call upon the strength they possess to show the good and courageous side that they have and to stop the slide down the “slippery slope” before it’s too late. Is it too late?