Living into Our Heritage by Removing the Smoke and Mirrors

Capitalism grew out of the Scottish enlightenment that sought to describe a moral philosophy of life.  Among the giants of this movement was Adam Smith who sought to understand the flow of wealth (Capital) among the Nations.  His book, The Wealth of Nations, sought to describe the ebb and flow of labor and capital that, in turn, created economic relationships.  His primary goal was to suggest ethical ways to shape that flow of wealth and labor. 

At the dawn of the 19^th Century, others coined the word “capitalism” to point out the brutality of the economic systems of their time.  These Socialist were more interested in an economic system that served the purposes of equal and fair distribution of wealth.  What has become lost in the ensuing Capitalist/Socialist debates is that both of these systems grew out of a Moral Philosophy movement that sought to observe both how the real world worked and understand the moral imperatives in those economic relationships.  Observation of reality and the ethics of life were the stock and trade of both.

In the years since, the public discourse has shifted away from a discussion of “what is right” to “what works for me.”  Very often the latter is couched in the language of a moral imperative.  This shift has required smoke and mirrors to twist the meaning of their words in order to turn the tide of public opinion. 

For example, the discredited idea of “laissez faire” capitalism has become “Trickle Down” that is built on the false notion that enormous profits for those who hold capital will trickle down to the labor force in the form of more jobs and higher wages.  This has been the economic gospel since the Reagan Years.  Unfortunately, there is no evidence of any significant trickle down.   However, since observation no longer served the purpose of the supporters, they turned to Smoke and Mirrors couched in moral imperative language.  This has made been accomplished by recasting “Greed” as the more acceptable “self-interest.”  We were told to vote our “self-interest” as a moral civic duty.  The “public good” of Smith’s writing has become “the private good” of trickle down through the use of the smoke and mirrors of political rhetoric.

However, it is important to recognize that the Right is not the only group to employ smoke and mirrors.  The Left uses their economic policy of social democracy to push for more control over the lives of the people.  While they proclaim a noble goal of Healthcare for all in their universal health care policies, they also attach many “nanny state” policies that limit the individual’s ability to take responsibility for their health care.  For example, they seek to deter smoking by raising exorbitant taxes on tobacco.  Often described as “social engineering,” such regulations only serve to limit the freedom of the very people they say they are seeking to liberate.  Many on the Left cannot separate their passion for the “public good” from the desire to force people to be “good.”  Again, smoke and mirrors are used to shape the public’s perception of the major partys’ intentions and policies.

What is to be done?  First, we have to accept that we do not accept the false reality that is being shoved down our throats by the Right and the Left.

Turn on the fans of observation to blow away the smoke.  Look at the world for yourself.  Stay awake and watch what is happening to real people.  Talk to folks unlike yourself and listen to how they are doing.  Observe and learn.  Challenge those who perform a sleight of hand with their words to redirect you from how their policies are really touching people’s lives. 

And then break the mirrors of illusion that are hiding the reality.  The old idea of “doublespeak” has never been more popular.  Refuse to give others the power to interpret what you see.  Talking Heads on TV are very dangerous.  They can “spin” the good into evil and the evil into a good.  When a talking head starts telling you what a policy or event means, turn them off and spend some time learning for yourself.  You are smart enough to learn from unbiased sources and making up you own mind about what a policy of event or action in our world means.

There are several “culture wars” going on at the same time in 2018.  There is a war being waged by the wealthy to steal as much as they can before they get caught.  This is not about social change or anything other than greed.  There is a war being waged by the left to take away the rights of people to make a mistake and grow through their choices.  “Social engineering” has had only limited success.  This is all about social change at the expense of individual liberty. 

By blowing away the smoke and breaking the mirrors, perhaps “We the people” can guide the American experiment through the troubled waters of the present.  We will find a way to navigate the ship of state between the rocky shoals of liberty and the public good to find a new day!   In doing so we will live into our heritage as children of 1776.

"These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Since Donald Trump announced that he was a candidate for the Office of President of the United States, our nation has drifted toward a whole new way of living out our story.  Some may characterize this new national “show” as Reality TV.  But I believe we are more like an old-fashioned soap opera.

Reality TV depended on “truthiness.”  This word was coined by Stephen Colbert to describe language that sounded true, but wasn’t.  Generally, it sounded true because it played into our prejudices and beliefs.  Many want to believe that our country is a Christian Nation under the special protection of God.  The reality is far different.  Our founders specifically rejected the “Christian” origins of our national life.  Our population is a diverse tapestry of religious and non-religious folks.  But, truthiness comes into play when politicians play the “Christian” card in our national life.  Many believe it is true because they so desperately want to be true.

There are a whole range of truthy cards that have been played over the last 40 years.  “Trickle-down economics” and “Race Relations are Improving” are just two.  There are many, many others. 

One of the truthy myths that we all grew up with has led to the undoing of the “Reality TV” way of living was “In America, anyone can grow up to be President.”  We all wanted to believe that America was big enough and noble enough to allow a person to rise to the “highest office in the land” solely on merit.  Ironically, the undoing occurred when we actually lived into this truthiness.  When a Black man was elected President the dark underside of our national life was revealed.  And when a woman became the leading candidate to succeed him, the old ways of truthiness crumbled away.  Our Reality TV way of life was no longer enough to protect the beliefs and hopes for a significant part of our population.  We became a nation of liars.

You see, a Soap Opera is pure emotion wrapped around a storyline of stereotypes.  It is all a lie.  Almost everyone knows that it is a lie.  It is not real.  It does not pretend to be real.  It is pure fantasy for some and a campy satire on life for others.  Sane people recognize that it is just a TV show but they allow themselves to be emotionally moved by the storyline and the drama surrounding the characters.  However, the emotionally unbalanced cannot see the lie and actually believe that the drama is real life.  The movies “The Truman Show” and “Pleasantville” were grounded in this premise and acknowledged the dramatic shift that would take place 20 years later.

As we enter 2018, our national narrative reflects more of “Days of Our Lives” than “Survivor.”  There is more of “Dark Shadows” than “American Idol” in the America of 2018.  Our national leaders lie with impunity because they believe that if they say it often enough, a large percentage of the population will believe it.  (Hitler proved this to be true in pre-WWII Germany.)  Our leaders realize that roughly 30% of our population want to believe that we are a Christian and White nation and will set ignore any evidence to the contrary.  They will vote for the politician who is “honest” enough to speak this “Truth” rather than all that “political correctness” nonsense about diversity and fairness.  This 30% is motivated by their emotional ties to their beliefs and cannot be dissuaded.

However, 30% is not enough to form a majority, so these same national leaders commit lie after lie because they know that another 20% just do not want to be bothered.  They want to live their lives “under the radar” and if someone offers a convincing lie that others seem to believe, they will go along with it.  There will not be a great deal of emotion in this.  It is mostly a reasoned commitment to keeping the peace in their lives.  These are the folks who go along with Aunt Mabel as she argues about who really shot J.R. as if it was a real mystery.  They do not want to upset Aunt Mabel and so live with the cognitive dissonance.  They pretend to live with the lie because it is just easier.  This 20% can be dissuaded from accepting the lies of our leaders if they become more comfortable by rejecting the lies.

As long as our national leaders are able to attract the support of both of these groups, we will be trapped in Soap Opera not unlike “Pleasantville.”  The world will be “black and white.”  We will be driven by our emotions, not unlike cows to slaughter. We will watch as layer upon layer of lies cause the national fabric of our lives to become tattered and torn.

The first step toward a renewal of our national story is in revealing the truth to the 20%.  They hold the key to our future.  Once they see the damage being done by the “Liars Guild” that has taken over our national narrative, they will stand up to the “Aunt Mabel” and lead us to a new narrative, grounded in honesty and the common good.  What will that new story look like?  I do not know, but I want to believe that it will be better than the story we have been writing for the last 75 years.

Awaiting a Time to Listen

I wrote these words a little under a year ago as Donald Trump was preparing to take office.

"The Progressive Movement in the United States is at a crossroads.  A super minority of the US population wants someone to fixit.  They have little patience for policy, or party, or even the 'rule of law.'  They want someone to fixit.  A demagogue has emerged to claim that he can fixit."

"The Progressive movement must begin to listen to this super minority before they become the majority.  For totalitarian regimes are created by such majorities.  Listen with respect.  Listen with compassion.  Listen until the minority knows that we are listening and care about them.  And then, and only then, will be have earned the right to speak and show how we would fixit."

"We stand at a crossroads. Let us choose the path with heart."

I must confess that after I wrote these words my heart sank.  I never published them.  Frankly, I was angry, disappointed, bitter, and frustrated.  At that point I did not want to listen.  I wanted to hide in a hole and try and sort out what happened. 

Now that we have seen that 45 has lived down to everyone's expectations, I continue to feel all of the above along with a good dose of shame for my country.

I really do believe that I need to listen to the folks who feel disaffected by having having a black man in the White House for four years.  I really do believe that I need to listen to people who are so angry that the privilege that they were promised as children is being siphoned away by history.  I really do believe that I need to listen to people who are frustrated because the jobs they are qualified to do are disappearing in a changing economy and they believe that this President will rescue them.  I really do believe that I need to listen to the people who believe that the clock can be turned back by a failed snake oil salesman pretending to be a world leader.

But, I do not believe I am ready to listen to them.  Or rather, they are are not ready for me to listen to them.  Listening only helps when people are ready to be honest with themselves.  It only helps when there is a a desire to grow beyond their present circumstance.  Many of these folks believe that their prejudices and hatreds are being legitimized and vindicated by this resident of the Oval Office.  Listening to them now would only reinforce their feeling of vindication.

I believe we need to ride out this unfortunate time in our history, standing ready to listen and support these folks when their world begins to crumble.  We will need to be there when 45 proves that he is incapable of turning back the calendar to the 1950's.  We will need to be ready to listen when they discover that they have been used to further the agenda of men and women whose only concern is the cashing out of the American experiment.  I believe that all of this will come to pass. 

In fact, it is imperative that we be ready to listen, because if we allow our anger and bitterness to permanently alienate ourselves from our neighbors they will see no other recourse than to follow 45 and his masters through the gates of fascism.  We have the ability to welcome them back into the America we hold dear, but we must not allow our hearts to be hardened.  Neither can we be afraid of what the future may hold.  When the time is right, may we reach out and embrace our sisters and brothers as we all come together to build the America of our highest hopes and ideals.  Stay strong, the future awaits us.

Base-Jumping as a Political Sport!

I have never really understood the sport of base-jumping.    Jumping out of a off of a perfectly good cliff in order to get a boost of adrenalin just seems a bit … illogical.  To trust one’s life to a veil of fabric that is supposed to open on command is a bit of a stretch for me.  Some things are just too important to entrust to systems that are “supposed” to work.

A couple of weeks ago our congressional leaders engaged in their own version of base-jumping.  They stood on the edge of the so-called “fiscal cliff” and jumped by failing to agree on legislation that would have kept us on the mountain.  In my opinion, they did so in order to energize their base and pump some adrenalin into those who support them with money and votes.  Adrenalin prepares the human body to fight or flee from a danger.  By jumping off the cliff they prepared the “body politic” to fight the good fight of their own ideological battles.  That is the way it is supposed to work.

However, the energy generated by such risky “political sport” can also lead to flight.  People can decide that our leadership is more interested in “playing games” than governing.  They can may flee from the democratic processes and seek other ways to impose their ideology on our society.  Or they could take flight from their elected officials and disregard the place of government in our lives.  In either case, the risk to “good governance and social order would be very high.”  Base-jumping off the “fiscal cliff” or the “debt-ceiling cliff” hardly seems worth the risk. 

Surely we can find a better way to reach a consensus and put our fiscal house in order.  Surely, people of reason and good will can find a way to serve the “common good”.  Do we really need this political sport before the grandstands of polarizing “news channels”? 

Tell your Representatives and Senators to step back from the cliff.  Sit down together and agree on the common good you seek.   Then turn off the cameras and talk to each other until you find a way to serve that common good.  Then come back to the cameras and start selling your agreement to the rest of us.  If you have served us well, you will keep your jobs.  If not, then start looking a new job.  We will be looking for someone who is more interested in governing than playing “political games.”

Bob Dees