America’s Absolut history

In every nation there exists a collective historical memory: a historical narrative of a… In every nation there exists a collective historical memory: a historical narrative of a country’s past actions that is subconsciously agreed upon by a majority of its citizens. In the United States, this narrative most often takes the form of profound historical ignorance.

We find it easier to agree to forget than to understand our past. For many Americans, the history of our nation is comprised of Pilgrims, the Boston Tea Party, Abraham Lincoln and the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Omitting such events as the massacre at Wounded Knee, the internment of Japanese Americans and the theft of the Southwest from Mexico isn’t just convenient, it’s necessary in a nation that considers itself to be the arbiter of human rights and political justice around the world.

And although we do our best to suppress the memory of these human rights abuses in our past, they exist so near the surface of our social consciousness that it took an ad produced by Absolut Vodka run in Mexico to remind Americans of their sordid imperial past. The ad shows a map of North America from the 1830s in which the (current) American southwest was a part of Mexico. The ad read, “In an Absolut World.”

Needless to say, this reminder of the geo-political reality of the 1830s has been too much for many Americans to handle. Angered by the suggestion that, in a perfect world, the United States would not have deliberately provoked a war with Mexico in order to extend slavery into new territories, conservatives have called for a boycott of Absolut Vodka.

In many ways, this is one of those ridiculous stories exclusively covered by conservative blogs and Fox News that should only be laughed at by serious individuals. It’s easy to dismiss this “controversy” as the creation of a few bloggers who have too much free time on their hands and whose anti-Mexican paranoia even extends to advertisements for Swedish liquor.

But even such a ridiculous political controversy as this one provides a window into the historical consciousness of America. The narrative of the American southwest has been popularized as one of independence and rugged individualism with the Alamo and John Wayne westerns.

And to think that an advertisement for Swedish vodka is the most visible challenge to this farcical construction of the American past is a little pathetic. Americans must become more engaged with our history if we are to successfully address the strained relationship between the United States and Mexico not only over matters of illegal immigration but also when it comes to our trade relationship.

The first issue that must be addressed is what we in the United States call the “Mexican-American War.”

The war that began in 1846 and ended in 1848 with the Mexican cession of territory from California to Texas is remembered in Mexico as the “War of the North American Invasion.”

Although this war is something that most Americans probably never think about, it still lingers in the collective consciousness of Mexicans today.

The fact that a Swedish vodka manufacturer recognized the modern importance of the Mexican experience in the War of the North American Invasion and the United States does not says something about the insularity of American thought.

But more important than understanding the history of U.S.-Mexican relations in the 19th century is understanding the modern economic history of North America that has precipitated the current situation regarding immigration that makes even vodka ads a flashpoint for political controversy.

Many Americans don’t fully understand the North American Free Trade Act, but we should know that while it has hurt many American workers, it completely destroyed certain sectors of the Mexican economy in the ’90s. Wages in some sectors dropped by 50 percent and many Mexican farmers lost their livelihoods because they could not compete with subsidized U.S. agriculture.

But how are NAFTA, the Mexican-American War (or the War of the North American Invasion, if you so prefer) and an ad for Absolut Vodka related?

Well, it seems to me that in all three situations it is a lack of perspective that causes problems for people in two countries who otherwise should be able to find common ground with each other.

In an Absolut World, maybe we’d be able to find this common ground and ignore the extremists on both sides that seek to distract us from it.

E-mail Giles at gbh4@pitt.edu.