Unprecedented Times

Unprecedented times. And becoming even more so. The killing of George Floyd is caught on video. Outrage spreads across the country and eventually around the world. Protests are unleashed in the midst of the current pandemic which lingers on, in some contexts now, as a backstory. Statues of Confederate generals and former slave traders are taken down. It’s an amazing time.

The movement has morphed from a focus on policing to a general focus on racism. Often countries around the world look at events in the US with curiosity, sometimes smugness, bewilderment or disdain. What has been interesting is how quickly this event became internalized in so many places around the world. It quickly went from, “Can you believe what’s going on in the US?” to “Come to think of it, this is not just a US thing. This connects with a massive issue in our country as well.”

I track a lot of news. I focus on Somalia. Kenya. The US. Even before the recent death of the Burundian president, I was periodically tracking events in the country that was our home for six years. I periodically consult local online news sites in Idaho where I have obvious connections. I have news feeds from sources that I consider “balanced” as well as others that tend to be biased against my leanings. I like to challenge what I think and believe, trying to understand why others think the way they do. It feel that one needs to be intentional so as not to foster an information bubble, a phenomenon that many seem to be content with.

Since the horrible arrest/killing of George Floyd there has been an enormous outpouring of opinions and editorials. I find a lot of it fascinating and enlightening. You also have a lot of people saying much of the same things – which is understandable since there are a lot of people having similar experiences. As with the MeToo movement, I was concerned that this issue might flare up and then fade without significant change. What’s encouraging is seeing that there is a concerted effort not to let that happen, as it has in the past.

Sheep-ish

Viewed from the outside, the US has for some time seemed to have experienced failed leadership on a lot of levels. The pandemic, a good example of this, has been managed in much the same way as the issues around climate change or MeToo. Childish insults. Ignoring data. Self-destructive polarization. Inability to focus, or even identify, the essential things that need to be done. Decisions are made not on the basis of what is the right thing to do but on political calculation.

Leaders are in charge of systems that are failing. The people in power who can change those systems don't seem motivated to do so. It’s not that they are all racist, nature-hating, misogynists (though some might be). But their primary objective is generally not to improve the well-being of their constituents. Their focus is political survival and, in some cases, their own financial well-being. They manipulate the population into continuing to support them as they pretend to care about the peoples’ interests. Events like this are leveraged to stoke populist agendas. 

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” – Hermann Göring, Nazi military leader (1893-1946)

 

The American Dream

The institutionalized marginalization of minorities in the US is generally not discussed as racism. In fact many of these policies are cloaked in the myth of the “American dream”. If you work hard, the system will grant you prosperity. The reason I call it a myth is that the “system” only works for some and really shouldn’t be considered American if it doesn’t work for a large percentage of Americans. The sad part is that the social structure necessary to operationalize the American dream, making it truly work for everyone, doesn’t exist. Given the lack of incentive for politicians to do what is morally right, it’s left to political calculation. And so far it hasn’t been politically costly for leaders to ignore the marginalized and as a result nothing changes. Populism generally succeeds in getting people to back their leaders even if those same people are victimized by the system driven by these leaders.

One common tactic is to pretend that social services are the equivalent of socialism. You select some services (schools, police, firefighters, medicare, military, etc.) as acceptable, even laudable, and others as socialist (healthcare and social safety nets). Support which could veritably undergird the “American dream”, such as assisting the poor to escape their cycle of poverty, are considered expensive and superfluous. And if you propose policies to help the poor, people drop the S-word on you. You’re denounced as a socialist.

“Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.” – Earl Warren, jurist and former Chief Justice (1891-1974)

The next few months will be a watershed moment. If we assume that the average politician (not all of them), regardless of the idealistic motivations they may have had when they ran for office, once in power has zero moral fiber, how then can doing the right thing also become a savvy political decision? For me, this needs to be at the center of the focus. If we can change the system, and human nature, how can you make the flawed system still produce desired outcomes?

What might be exciting in what’s going on in the US is that there is a sense that much of the population is honestly and truly fed up. The question is whether, in the end, apathy win out over the anger welling up in much of the population. It’s been said that the opposite of love is not hatred. It’s indifference. I tend to agree. Prosperity and comfort can breed indifference. So can disillusionment. But as fewer and fewer people in the US are comfortable with what is going on, or have decided that they really can make a difference, it just might bring about change.

I just finished a book called Educated, about a woman from my home state of Idaho who escapes an abusive family situation (that I won’t go into here but it’s a good read). The primary theme in the book is the power of her education to help her to free herself from her toxic upbringing but in the process, sadly, alienate herself from her family. As I thought about this woman’s journey, it made me think about so many in the US who, like this woman’s parents, honestly believe they are doing the right thing – defending beliefs that they hold near and dear – but without being open to considering the potentially harmful impact some of those beliefs have. Not only that but these beliefs often come in a package and you defend the whole package because that’s what people on your “side” do. There’s limited critical thinking and very little opportunity, or openness, to question it. Social groups, including everything from the local pub, to church groups, to social media algorithms, foster a sort of “bubble” of influencers, propelling a person even deeper into this package of beliefs. To question anything seems absurd and/or will get you mocked by your peers.

No one is immune to this phenomenon. And I don’t believe education is the only answer. And I certainly don’t believe that formal education is the only answer. The world has always had highly educated people that were evil to the core. I think the author of the book would agree that it’s more about the mindset. Having the freedom to question things. Question your beliefs. Question leaders. Listening to someone you might disagree with. And then, having the integrity to accept that something you’ve always thought, or something you were taught, or something your friends believe, might be wrong and/or harmful. The older you get, the more humility this requires. It also requires a great deal of courage. People in these circles are not accepting of those among their ranks who fall outside their norms. Not toeing the party line can open you to mockery and/or alienation. This is not specific to any political persuasion. For example Pro-Lifers and Christians are frowned upon on the Left. Pro-Choicers and LGBTQs on the Right are demonized. It’s always dumbed down to good guys and bad guys. White hats and black hats. Right vs. wrong. People are generally not as tolerant that they portray themselves to be. Nuance is nowhere to be found. As a result, people of all parties, races and religions end up feeling like they have a justified reason to hate.

The system is broken. The people that are driving the system are not being held accountable. Citizens, the people that should be holding them accountable, are not doing their job. Part of the answer is in our schools, our churches, mosques and synagogues. Most of these institutions are failing our children. Children are being told what to think and not how to think. They grow up thinking and acting like people in their respective communities, regardless of whether these beliefs are harmful. Leaders of these institutions should be held accountable by their communities. If not, the citizens that come out the other side will continue to perpetuate the flawed governance that plagues the country and result in the dramas unfolding today.

The problems are deep and cannot be solved overnight. That’s why I mention kids. I was a school teacher for eight years. I’m aware of the amazingly positive things that can happen during those years. I’m also aware of the immense damage that can be done as well. But kids are generally more open to new ideas than adults. We need to teach children not to hate, to be open, to think critically and to seek truth. It should not make us afraid that our children might grow up to think differently than we do. We should not fear the truth.