We the people are always looking for someone to save us. We seek a political savior, typically our next president. This is especially true in 2020.
In the beginning it was the founding fathers that forged revolution into ideals, laws, and patriotism. The nation was saved by George Washington. In the slavery crisis we the people selected Lincoln; in the depression it was Roosevelt. Following Vietnam and Watergate, maybe it was Jimmy Carter. Although another crisis always followed, they were minor. – Recession, Indian wars: foreign wars, cold wars, international intervention. As each minor crisis was addressed it was okay to think everything was all right. We were restored. The crisis resolved.
We the people were given the opportunity to select these saviors by going into a voting booth every four years. In each presidential election, we the people got to choose between two white privileged males that were inoffensive in manner and bearing. Each promising a return to normalcy or a plan to address the current cyclical crisis whether economic, foreign threats or social injustice. The choices were rarely exceptional. Democrat? Or Republican? Just two sides of the same coin. Over time we lost faith in the ability to elect a leader with the political skills to achieve real change. we left the voting booth empty.
Occasionally we the people recognized a systemic flaw of our democracy and protested. Historically, our rebellions have been limited and short-lived. Why rebel? We live in a country abundant with natural resources and with uncounted opportunities and mobility. Unfortunately, abundance is now diminished, resources stressed, and mobility flattened. However, I believe that the rebellion of today arises from the recognition that the capitalist system only distributes just enough wealth to curb our discontent. Any dissent is deflated by a system of controls with more loopholes and flexibility that absorbs almost any direct blow. Think of government regulations modified to allow prior illicit activities to become legal – gaming, sport betting and lotteries that imply reachable wealth or life modifications that echo the rich and famous. Reforms are offered to mollify opposition. For example, consider the adoption of Voting Rights Act, a landmark of American legislation later defanged by the courts, appointed with political bias, allowed states to artfully suppress the minority vote.
American capitalism isolates our social and political networks into manageable turf where we each pick a side. It uses patriotic loyalty to unite us to deal with external threats while the 1% increase their wealth benefiting by foreign conflict . They pit small business owners against the big, black against white, immigrants of color against white colonists. Liberal intellectuals and professionals against the uneducated, unskilled, and impoverished. It created a system of taxation that breeds resentment as the middle class believes it is being forced to pay for the poor. The blame game becomes the subject of the media, the handmaidens of the 1%. Age-old skirmishes between classes continue unabated.
Cultural wars now conducted with such vehemence and violence that provide cover for the elite. Blinded by prejudice and hate, we the people are left to fight for the remnants of resources artfully given to fuel cultural grievances.
I presume that this critique may be rejected by the conservative reader or even the liberal. In your mind that my words lack respect and are unwarranted criticisms of our beloved democracy. You may even consider it un-American. Not really, we the people have been politically polarized for generations. Political discussions are driven not by differing ideas or positions but rather the simple hate of the opposing party. The liberal and conservative are no longer motivated by the devotion to their beliefs and party. Now we the people simply hate whoever sits at the other side of the table. No middle ground, no compromises. In my opinion, we fail to recognize that our seats at the table are not of our choosing. Our positions are set to foster conflict. Our nametags are assigned unquestioned and the menu is written to feed divisiveness. The only thing left to do is to argue over who pays the bill.
Perhaps it is time to and remind you that one of our founding fathers, President James Madison wrote in the Federalist papers that “The purpose of the Constitution is to restrict the majority’s ability to harm a minority.” The minority referenced are founding fathers and brothers – white men that had deep economic roots in American soils. (Did you know that George Washington owned over 50,000 acres of land). They were outnumbered and threatened by the majority – black men enslaved; white women, slaves to social mores, and impoverished white men who did not own land. The founders feared the tyranny of this majority. And with imagination and intellect (thank you, Alexander Hamilton) created a political system that took more than it gave.
One could take the position that the founding fathers began the preamble to the Constitution with the words we the people launching the pretense that the new government stood for everyone. Did they dare to hope that once this myth, that excluded Blacks and women was accepted as a fact it Would ensure domestic tranquility – a necessary component of stable economy. An economy that served their personal interests.
I take no pleasure in writing these words. There are days that I regret my decision to delve into our political history. It is disheartening to realize that the American experiment was always flawed by the influence of the wealthy and the subjugation of the majority.
Regardless, I still have hope that we will elect an authentic leader who will right this floundering ship before it sinks into mediocrity.
Those are my thoughts of the day and I appreciate your reading them. I welcome your comments and input.
The prisons in the United States had long been an extreme reflection of the American system itself: the stark life differences between rich and poor, the racism, the use of victims against one another, the lack of resources of the underclass to speak out, the endless “reforms” that changed little.
Glad you still have hope. Mine is dwindling daily. We need a saviour. We shall see what our future will be come November. Our grandchildren’s lives and happiness are at stake.
Wayne, sharp analysis as usual.
No wonder US is polarized. The US have two all dominating parties. You might not like “steak” or “fish”, but that’s what you can choose between. Anything else is de facto without political influence. If you don’t feel represented by either the democrats or the republicans, you got nowhere to go. Why??
The US is home to some of the richest people on this planet, and yet the US has an unpresidented number of homeless people, all at the same time. Why??
The US has some of the most prestigious schools on this planet, but only if you are fortunate to have wealthy parents and not because you really interlectually gifted OR happen to meet the right peolpe on the right time to help you along. Why??
We all live in one great big eco system virtually without borders and yet the US elects one of the most narrowminded presidents in history. Chocking!!
For the sake of the US and the rest of the planet, I sincerly hope that you elect a new president in November, one that’s less norrowminded, one that acknowledge that less inequality is better for the people as a whole, one that unite the people in stead of deviding the people, one that acknowlodge that the US has a responsibility, not just to the US but to the whole planet.
we have to keep getting into good trouble as John Lewis always said. I just hope that we can educate people to see what the future holds for their children and grandchildren. It is now more important than ever to save democracy. we as patriots should always speak up when we see something is wrong. Excellent article and let’s try to get more people involved to save what has happened to our country.