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Season of Goodwill?
A Good Fight? A Time to Join?
Yes, we do live in interesting times, and right now, an interesting season. During the traditional season to focus on peace on earth and goodwill, after the midterm elections, many are also feeling their oats and ready to test how powerful puffed oats really are.
No one knows what comes next, of course. Did President Obama know the economy would melt down as he went into office? Chances are we’ll be surprised as the world turns.
This is not to say that there aren’t a lot of people who think they know, or, at least, would like us to think they know what the election means and what’s coming. How is it that journalists are supposed to pride themselves on presenting the facts, then turn around, enter another realm and predict the future? But we all do it. We all wonder.
For me, the short version of the midterms is that not much changed—when it comes to what people want. It’s pretty simple isn’t it? Fewer younger voters—13 million fewer voted!—and fewer blacks, went to the polls. Maybe they didn’t want to hear that they should get out there and fight for Obama when it didn’t look like Obama was fighting for them—or the things he said he wanted to accomplish.
Was he too willing to compromise, or “fight” by bringing programs to a vote? Either way, the result, and that perception, seemed to ring true for a lot of people I talked to. But did two years of Obama turn liberals into conservatives, or conservatives into liberals? I don’t think so.
Is there really anything that tells us that those who didn’t vote this midterm no longer want the changes they voted for two years ago? Or does it serve some politicians to have us think that?
Sometimes “fight” simply means declaring this is ours or this is what we want. When you have the votes to gain it, that’s legitimate. No one’s rights are being trampled. The Constitution protects people’s rights. It’s actually supposed to work that way in a democratic republic. You vote. Camels are what you get when you try to please everyone, and I don’t remember seeing that party on the ballot.
There was a lot the Administration accomplished too, but little emphasis on it in the media, which is now—it’s important to remember—owned by a handful of corporations.
Look at a couple of local examples: The obvious one is highway construction. Does anyone think the city of Poway is paying for expanding Hwy-15? The Feds are a bit involved there. There’s a lot of infrastructure and road building going on, and other projects are in the beginning or planning stages.
One of those I thought exciting is building an earthquake early detection system. It’s not a pipe dream. Japan has it already. Turkey too. About a minute before an earthquake a “pulse” goes out from the quake’s epicenter than can be detected by scientific instruments as far away as the quake will reach. A minute doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re in surgery or on a ladder it’s useful and potentially life saving.
Japan’s transportation systems are all alerted right before a quake. Warning signals can be spent on the radio, television and cell phones. Save a spot on your cell for this app. As much as I dislike bringing up a sore point or using cuss words—according to some—the project was started with stimulus funds. You know, the ones that never created any jobs.
The problem with this program is that some will think of it as a luxury and “we” will be cutting luxuries soon, we’re told. But since it’s about public safety and protecting lives, maybe we could put it in the defense budget where it’s safer. The whole subject of what is in the national defense might be an interesting issue to consider.
We also are hearing a lot of predictions and talk about luxuries and the national debt too. If you’ve been around more that a few decades or scores, however, you’ve heard the score on the debt before. It’s more important, then less, and then more again, usually that’s according to the same people. It’s there. It changes. And why it’s now a focus is because it serves those who are talking about it to talk about it—that might classify it as a distraction.
While good press and pointing out what has been done could have helped the President, those things still may not have stood up to the feeling that the President isn’t fighting for those who elected him. For clarification, I’m not saying, “let’s fight!”
I think of there being three basic positions. One says, “I want all the marbles.” Another says, “Take them all, whatever you want.” The third isn’t necessarily compromise. Isn’t the balanced, healthy position—one with boundaries such as the Constitution—one where people take what is theirs to take or what belongs to them? The place that says this is yours and this is mine, and I’m entitled to mine?
As far as being unpredictable, it’s interesting that Tea Party supporters have a problem with those who have “privilege.” Could a common ground be found about eliminating special treatment? They might end up agreeing with some progressives.
If Tea Party people had trouble with bank bailouts and anointing some banks and not others, could that translate into being uneasy about giving special privileges to other corporations?
Corporations had record profits, setting all-time highs in the third quarter of 2010. It’s no secret they are sitting on billions of dollars and don’t want to spend it. They say they don’t want to spend and expand their businesses unless consumer demand gets better.
Yes, there’s a lot of questions. Does that mean they support extending unemployment benefits? Is it time to question whether it really makes a difference to most of us if some corporations are profitable or not? Is it time to make a distinction between those creating jobs here and those who aren’t? When economists calculate how the economy is doing, shouldn’t people be included?
If multinational corporations have never done better, and jobs are not being created so that many people are doing worse, how does it benefit us/US to give corporations special tax breaks?
Could it be that rather than helping the economy, corporations that pay their executives enormous salaries and bonuses actually hurt the economy? Maybe paying those bonuses requires that jobs be shipped overseas to make them pencil out.
Is it really cheaper to have TVs built on the other side of the world and ship them here, or does that just allow corporations to pay executive salaries?
The obvious may be becoming even more obvious—laid off auto workers can’t buy cars built overseas. Maybe people will look at why cars aren’t half the price when they’re built overseas.
There’s a growing movement of employee-owned businesses that bypasses all that. Is that one avenue toward more jobs?
It’s a fascinating time that can also be viewed as spiritual. Didn’t Jesus warn about moneylenders and coveting money? Who accepted the poor, the beggars and the prostitutes? Who didn’t look down on people often considered “lesser” and was against special privilege? Didn’t he say to take care of our brothers and sisters?
As the largest supposedly Christian nation in the Western world, how can the country simultaneously believe the principles found in the New Testament—and then say, “that’s their problem” or “it’s their own fault?” It sure looks like a time for reflection and redefinition.
Ultimately there’s another factor that’s very pertinent. While the government can open or close some doors, we are the ones that take the next step—the ones that have to take the steps to improve our lives.
Waiting for the cavalry/government to save us may be a distraction from gaining the clarity we need to build our lives in the most secure and fulfilling way we can.
Again, there’s a lot to look at. Alternatives are popping up and one thing that I want to look at this coming year are the steps we can all take, regardless of what the government is doing.
The wild card is—what if we actually united and involved? There’s an article in this issue that’s valuable from the perspective of seeing what is possible through group participation. It’s about people in Germany who were very clear about what they wanted (with regard to nuclear energy) and then took steps. It’s worth reading.
Who knows what would work here, given our laid-back version of participatory democracy? Seeing something like what happened in Germany happen here would be pretty revolutionary for us/US.
What that would take is giving up the distractions and being clear what we want. Ideally, what we hear in the coming months will give us clarity about who is who, and where to join.
Have a great Holiday month,
