I’m not sure any of ‘it’ matters. Of course,’ it’ does, but what is the’ it?’ In this case, I think the ‘it’ is the ongoing, repressive conditioning of the U.S. American public that suggests that the balance of history hangs with the Obama-Romney election.
My difficulty with how our political system works is many fold, but fundamentally I see nothing in the decision in this election that gets any where near connecting with the lives of the majority of the neighbors that make up the American public.
Something doesn’t ring true when I get angry with a friend because they put up a Romney-Ryan sign in their front yard. That simply cannot define my relationships. And yet I allow it. I have to be ‘talked down.‘ And that is symptomatic of something much more important. I can choose to reduce my life to this kind of silliness or seek another way.
In my mind nothing short of a foundational shift in the narrative of who we are as a nation, as a people gets close to what is needed.
Many people in their guts, have a sense of what quality of life looks like. They may not be conscious of it, or able to articulate it. They may out of frustration give in to the rhetoric of one of the political parties. They may run for cover and isolate themselves in their families. They may find solace in some religious expression or sports franchise. But given the chance, they could give us all insights into what a healthy community might look like. I think most people want more, not stuff, more meaning.
“Divide and conquer” has always been the strategy of those with power versus the common citizen. Instead of united communities we have division after division. Split the African-Americans and Europeans and Latinos and Asians. Divide gays-lesbians from straights. Clarify how immigrants today are ‘aliens’ but in earlier times they were ‘courageous seekers of freedom’ Demonize the Christian right or the Socialists. Stake a claim that Republicans are more ‘American’ than Democrats or vice-versa. How is any of that beneficial? It creates a lot of anger and guilt and a lot of impossibility.
This is not understood by politicians. They owe too much to too many to get close to the ‘heart of the matter.’ The 1% vs. the 99% is not just an economic metaphor. It also speaks to what percentage of the population makes decisions for the rest of us, the voting booth not withstanding.
With my involvement in more and more conversations with persons from a variety of political and religious persuasions, I’m pretty sure there is a better understanding out there than we will ever know if we simply accept the way things are.
It is understood, in part, by the citizen who is seeking ways to financially support her family.
It is understood, in part, by the parent who is trying to figure out what if any difference it makes to fight for effective education from pre-school through grad school (as well as technical training). My car mechanic has a son who runs a ‘tool and die’ operation flooded with orders from China, but can’t find qualified workers.
It is understood, in part, by the friend who doesn’t have insurance and can’t afford to have a hip surgery he needed years ago until he qualifies for Medicaid. True story (he has about 8 month to go.)
It is understood, in part, by the neighbor who sees the quality of life diminished because of home foreclosures leading to blocks of vacant houses that become the locus of drugs and the stimulus for violence. She doesn’t want to raise her kids that way, but.....
The narrative that I’m talking about is a narrative of community. The politicians talk about ‘the American people’, they do not talk about our identify as a community and as communities within a community. Little is said about social responsibility and interconnectedness. Virtually nothing is said about individual responsibility.
Political campaigns try to convince us that there are good positions taken by one or other of the parties. So they pit what are thought to be different points of view, like, is the government too big or too small, to tax or not to tax, protectionism or not, shipping jobs overseas or keeping them at home, public schools or school choice, job creators or welfare dependents.......and on and on.
See what I mean by ‘not sure any of it matters. Of course it does....’ I don’t think we’re any where close to having a national and local conversation about who we want to be as a society. And when we do, we distance it from the bread and butter, life and death concerns of our citizens.
Our forum for discussion does not provide for wide spread grassroots participation. The forum is dominated by money, period. That is our narrative. We cooperate with that narrative by defining meaning with our participation as consumers. Not many of us want to change the choices that come with the existing narrative, ie. its’s all out there and if you want it bad enough and work hard enough, you, too, can have it.
Our opportunity to shift that narrative is as close as each of us, as one has put it, the main question is, ‘what kind of human being do you want to be?’ Extended outward that same question concerns family, neighborhood, city, nation and globe.
Change that matters will come to the degree that vision and responsibility can be embraced and implemented. There are those who are moving in that direction. Joining with them is an option.
Let’s not be deceived. That is the predominant value in our lives. That is our ‘god.’ That is our religion. That is the ‘heart of the matter.’ Is it?
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